The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Something outlandish about the scent wafting from expo

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Something outlandish about the scent wafting from expo

Special Correspondent

Ikebana exhibition gives a glimpse of Japanese art form of arranging flowers

— PHOTO: S. THANTHONI.

Eye-catching: An exhibition of the Japanese art of flower arrangement, which was inaugurated in Lalit Kala Akademi on Friday.

CHENNAI: It was a riot of colour at the hall, which played host to a variety of flowers from the simple Bougainville flower to the exotic Ooty varieties, dry wood and bamboo. The students experimented with containers in which the flower/foliage arrangements were made: ceramic vases, glass dishes, an antique spice box and a colourfully painted circular lunch-box.

A three-day Ikebana exhibition, organised by the Tamil Nadu centre of the ABK-AOTS Dosokai at Lalit Kala Akademi here, provides a glimpse of the Japanese art form of arranging flowers.

It was inaugurated on Friday by Lan Minagawa, wife of the Consul-General of Japan Kazuo Minagawa, and presents the work of a team of Sogetsu Study Circle.

Sogetsu Ikebana is a school that allows room for experiment with flowers, plants and containers, the students say. It is less conservative than others that expect the flower arrangers to wear the traditional Japanese costume and follow the rules strictly.

College professor Pushkala Arumugam, who has been learning the art for a year, says being allowed to use material available gives her “a lot of scope for imagination”. S. Venkatesh, also a fresher, has used bamboo and offset it with flowers from his garden. Ashok Bhoopathy has used a branch of custard apple, thrown in a few flowers and displayed an interesting, unexpected ensemble.

Malathi Pandurang, who heads the study circle, says a person should be able to respond to the “raw material” when one sees it. “It is the art of harmonising two different kinds of materials,” she says. “The flowers add colour to the green foliage or the dry wood.”

The exhibition, titled ‘Facets of Sogetsu Ikebana’, will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Monday.

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