???This wish fulfilling Teddy is the mythic wishing tree ???Kalpavriksha???.
The body of the bear represents virgin forests of the world, and the termite tubes represent the scars of urbanization and deforestation. The Wish is thinking that mankind finally realizes their folly and comes back down to earth from it???s high rise disconnected living. Trees are planted again and the forest repairs itself. Despite the nomenclature of urban unplanned sprawl the only true colour outside of artificially sprinkled golf courses, accessible only to the elite, is the ash grey of concrete. My green teddy has transformed it???s body from grey to the colour of the forests, sky and streams, it has returned to innocence.
Everybody should be allowed to dream and for one brief moment, Make A Wish foundation is making those dreams become a reality for small children.???
Valay Gada Valay Gada is an Indian artist/designer. He holds a graduate degree from N.I.F.T in Fashion Lifestyle & Accessories Design in 2008 after completing his degree in English Literature from Wilson College. He honed his craft as a product designer with leading designer brands, Michael Aram and Viya Home. Valay's inspiration stems from preserving and adapting India's craft tradition in harmony with nature. His work reflects his concerns with the impact of urbanisation and climate change eroding the natural world. He seeks to beautify this urban internal landscape.
About WISH - A – TEDDY
We’re delighted to present “WISH-A-TEDDY”: a collection of hand-painted teddy bears by renowned Indian artists and designers in collaboration with Make-A-Wish Foundation®.
These beautifully hand-painted teddies have been created by Paresh Maity, Baiju Parthan, GR Iranna, Jayasri Burman, Nilofer Suleman, Vibha Galhotra, George Martin, Manil & Rohit Gupta, Seema Kohli, Valay Shende and many others, and designers like Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Sabyasachi, Anamika Khanna and Maheka Mirpuri, these teddies surely make for collectors’ items.
Make-A-Wish Foundation® of India is a non-profit organization dedicated to granting the most cherished wish of children aged 3 -18, living with life-threatening illnesses, irrespective of their socio-economic status, caste, race or religion. It has branches in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune, and is headquartered in Mumbai. The Foundation conducted its first ever fundraiser in India, "WISH - A - TEDDY", earlier this April at the Palladium Hotel, Mumbai. This event was planned to celebrate World Wish Day – a global day of wish granting which falls on 29th April, 2014.
The works in the present collection are the works which were part of this exhibition.
The teddy bear is a symbol of childhood and joy, and it also makes for an endearing sculpture that brings on a smile, across all age groups.