When creations from castaways had messages to take away

Artists have always been instruments of change for they can depict the ills of society best, in ways that attract the attention of the populace easily and in quick time. They are high on recall value too. 

The effort has a multiplier effect if the creations kindling interest happen to be castaways that have been recycled, especially on issues concerning the environment. 

The Band Stand inside the Cubbon Park came alive to such an endeavour on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on Wednesday.

Budding artists descended there to put together tell-tale creations on the spot, highlighting socio-economic-ecological issues facing India, in a contest titled ‘Reciprocity Wave,’ organised by Shilpa Architects and Friends Learn USA.

In one of the art pieces by students of the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, the shackles of foreign rule around Mother India are replaced by a rope around her neck. Through this, they hoped to convey that the perils of modern day are far more suffocating than the fetters she was freed from 66 years ago.

The common man is forced to race along with the political parties only for survival, but dies midway in this depiction. In the power struggle between parties, criminals pop up and snatch away the tricolour from Mother India’s hand at gunpoint. Sycophants lie at their feet, adoring them as if they were demigods.

Deepika, one of the team members said, “India's woes seem to be unending. The common man is not finding any space in this system.”

A group of students from Ken School of Art, Seshadripuram, depicted government as a dung beetle, which considers everyone and everything as dung to feast on. The artists made the beetle using pieces of glass, empty soft-drink pans and spare parts of vehicles.
Prithviraj, one of the co-designers of the model, said, “This beetle called government eats animal waste and defecates black money. It then leaves behind a trail of destruction.”

Another team from Ken School portrayed the dangers of global warming in the wake of rapid urbanisation and materialistic urges. Using waste paper, the group showed that the earth may collapse anytime if urbanisation goes unchecked.

The third group of students depicted a noose of greed and lust hanging over the earth. This, they said, could suffocate the planet.

Other colleges that participated were Acharya’s NRV School of Architecture, BMS School of Architecture, Chitrakala Parishat, Dayananda Sagar Educational Institutions, Kala Mandir, MSRIT, Oxford College of Engineering, RV College of Engineering, Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology and the Department of Architecture of Bangalore University.
Rasika Ramesh, one of the organisers, said innovative initiatives were the need of the hour since Bangalore is fast losing its greenery and salubrious climate due to high pollution levels.

For a change, the national holiday was well availed by the surging crowd at the display area.