Daku’s last mural
Delhi street artist Daku left a final political mural titled “Water: Past, Present, Future” as a plea for water conservation — the piece was completed shortly before his passing. The mural also features collaborations with Parisian writer Lek and Franco‑American Sowat, underlining global ties in activist street art. (hindustantimes.com)
The work was painted on a building in Delhi’s Lodhi Art District and was installed during the Lodhi Art Festival run by St+Art India Foundation in February 2026. (hindustantimes.com)) It was one of six new murals added to Lodhi for the festival’s 10th anniversary, alongside pieces by JuMu (Germany), Pener (Poland) and Elian Chali (Argentina). (retropoplifestyle.com)) The wall carries bold, shadowed typography in both Hindi and English that asks “What value does water have for you? / How do you reuse water?” and depicts stepwells and earthen water pots, with the words “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” painted across the top. (hindustantimes.com)) St+Art’s curatorial team say the design frames water as part of a temporal continuum rather than a single crisis, a reading voiced by chief curator and co‑founder Giulia Ambrogi. (hindustantimes.com)) The mural credit lists a collaboration with UK‑based visual artist Raissa Pardini and the project was developed with institutional partners including the British Council. (hindustantimes.com)) Hanif Kureshi — the artist widely known by the nom de plume Daku — designed the piece shortly before his death on September 22, 2024, at age 41. (en.wikipedia.org)) With February’s additions, Lodhi Colony’s open‑air collection reached roughly 66 murals, a milestone organisers marked as a decade of the public art district’s development supported by partners such as Asian Paints. (thehindu.com))
