Hope appears to be the mantra for today’s trying times. That is why the exhibition, One by One, a fundraiser for the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks, is a display of paintings that evoke hope and not despair. Curated by Anupa Mehta of The Loft and Sapna Kar, the show is hosted by the JSW Foundation, spearheaded by Sangita Jindal.

The show will be put up at Olive on the Racecourse on March 2 and 3, but it opens at the Trident on Sunday. Artists like Akbar Padamsee, Riyas Komu, Laxman Shreshtha, Sunil Padwal, Akkitham, Baiju Parthan, Alok Bal, Bharati Kapadia, Kahini Arte Merchant and Milburn Cherian, to name a few of the 70, have donated works—each 1X1 square foot. It also includes two quilts based on paintings of artists like Jitish Kallat designed by Krsna Mehta.

“While the works will map their thoughts related to the incidents, they will not be morbid—rather, they will resonate with hope and reflect on the indomitable human spirit. For we are not just Mumbaikars or Indians, but global citizens who can work together for a better future,” says Kar. But there are several images of gun-toting men and shattering cities among the images of hope— there seems to be a certain rage among painters who otherwise would not do topical works.

“One feels a sense of outrage at the rape of the city,” says Jehangir Jani, whose painting depicts a shadow of Ajmal Kasab and his automatic weapon in the foreground. A red horse and thin pencil lines of high rise buildings dot the skyline. The horse is a symbol of manhood, in this instance the horse, standing motionless while the shadow of the terrorist advances, appears more like a sacrificial goat. Julius Macwan releases blobs of brown, red and gold paint that threaten to drown the image of Kasab replete with his rucksack and gun. “The brown stands for the waste of the city and the gold for the spirit of the city and the red for the blood shed,” says Macwan.

Most of the works have been reasonably priced. The prices begin from Rs 15,000 for Hindol Brahmbhatt’s works too Rs 4 lakh for a work by Anjolie Ela Menon. Besides 1x1 is an interesting size, observes Mehta, so artists can create works that are friendly to the cramped spaces of the city,while taking into account the aesthetics of such a format.