Kerala   

Stringing together a salute

Photo: C. Ratheesh kumar

Wired art: K.K. Chandran with his work, a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi made of aluminium wire.

Fun with figures: Students at the Mathematics Lab of Mother India International School Residential Public, Attingal

Many will heap tributes on our freedom fighters this Independence Day. But, artist K.K. Chandran’s homage is likely to stand out. For, it will have a metallic sheen to it. Chandran, a native of Vadakara, has chosen to salute the icons by making their portraits — not with pencil or paint, but with strings of aluminium.

Fifty portraits crafted by Chandran, featuring national and cultural leaders of India, are displayed at the Metart ’08 exhibition, which began at the YMCA Hall in the city. The exhibition is organised by the Information and Public Relations Department.

“I did portraits of both pre and post-Independence leaders, including freedom fighters, cultural leaders, nation builders and personalities from different walks of life,” said Chandran.

He started making portraits with aluminium anodized cables four years ago. “I use different grades of cables for different portraits. Initially, I used thicker cables. But soon I found out that thinner ones are more suitable for tracing the shades and curves. I get cables from North India where it is used in jewellery making,’ said Chandran, who has served in the Indian Air Force and National Insurance Co.Ltd.

The cables are shaped using a nose-plier and are fixed on hard board with black velvet cloth as background. All portraits are based on a standard photograph of the personality.

“The best thing about metal craft is that it will remain intact, without losing sheen, for a long time, once you frame it. I do not use glue to fix cables, but pierce it into the board. So, it is quite a tedious task,” he says.

A portrait is usually finished in three days.

Portraits of Mother Teresa, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, J.R.D. Tata, Guru Nanak, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and a full-size one of Mahatma Gandhi, among others, are displayed.

Chandran says he had difficulty in collecting photographs of some freedom fighters and national leaders while those of cultural leaders were easily available.

“Pictures of freedom fighters come only in school charts. These are usually very small. I had to scour history textbooks to get pictures of some leaders,” he said.

Chandran has already conducted three exhibitions of metal craft. He is interested in contributing his works to a museum in the State.

His wife Thilakam and daughter Thusha are also involved in craft making. The family runs a home science centre for women at Orkkatteri.

Metart ’08 will conclude on August 15.

Sangeetha Unnithan

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Truce in Georgia comes as a relief to several Keralites
State Bank officers’ strike on August 18
Stringing together a salute
Students get help to crack maths mystery
Peoplespeak
Decision on NCP’s entry into UDF
‘Single-window system hit the poor’
Ceasefire in Georgia comes as a relief
With hand as the canvas
Pressing demands
B.Ed. centre teacher alleges harassment by police
MSF to block KSRTC buses
Munshis’ forum plea
Campus Notes
Fruit of labour
One for Independence Day
Novel initiative
Hoax season

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu