An artful take on the magic of football

KOCHI: In a few hours, Kerala will be witnessing its largest event till date when the FIFA U-17 World Cup match between Brazil and Spain begins at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium today. Even as Kochi is all set to welcome the game, the excitement becomes more evident inside the volunteer centre in the stadium.
Azeem K and Harikrishnan, two FIFA volunteers along with their friends have transformed the walls of the volunteer room with beautiful illustrations. The walls now sport football related themes and typography. The role of football in daily life, whether it is a child or an adult has been portrayed through paintings. 3-D illustrations are also part of the art.

They have let loose their creativity even on the glass walls. The official tagline of FIFA ‘Football Takes Over’, has been embossed on the wall.According to Azeem, the idea to convert the walls into an art installation came up during a casual talk with the tournament officials. “Since both of us know designing, we decided to take up the responsibility. Initially, it was difficult for us to convince the officials, but after listening to our ideas they agreed to give us a chance,” he added.

Azeem is the co-founder of the animation studio Eunoians, which means beautiful thinking in Greek. Harikrishnan works as a script-writer in the company. Their colleagues too joined in to make the venture a success. A 10-member team led by creative director Seerow Unni brought the idea alive.
Azeem reminisced about the sleepless nights and brainstorming sessions he and his designing team done in order to complete the work before the deadline. The installation was completed in three days. The tournament authorities appreciated the end result. He said the team feels pride in making their bit of contribution to the event. An experience of the lifetime for them.