A replica of the image created by the artist at Zurich in 2003
KOCHI: “Restoring a sculpture to its original form is quite difficult. Nevertheless, 14 sculptures at the Subhash Chandra Bose Park are being restored by a group of artists with the assistance of the Kochi Corporation and the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL). The selected artists include K P Soman, S Radhakrishnan, Valsan Koorma Kolleri, V K Rajan, T Kaladharan and C S Jayaram. In this group, Saurav Roy Chowdhury, the Kolkata-based son of sculptor Sarbari Roy Chowdhury has come to Kochi to help restore his father’s sculpture.
Saurav was in Norway at the time when he got a call from an official of the Kochi Corporation asking for his help. But when he saw the statue, Saurav felt disappointed. “It was fully damaged as two trees had grown from the inside. As a result, the sculpture has broken into two pieces, making it difficult to get it restored,” said Saurav.
The concrete sculpture ‘Reclining woman’ was made 28 years ago. It is a sculpture of a reclining nude woman in a cross-legged posture. “It is a semi-abstract work, which the laziest viewers can also relate to,” said Saurav.
The sculpture was done during Kerala’s first International art camp held in the 1990s. Saurav has requested Rajan Chedambath of the Corporation’s Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development for permission to put up another work of his father.
Incidentally, Saurav has been a sculptor for 15 years. “Sculpting came to me very naturally and I started making small sculptures with clay and wax at the age of three. Although my father criticised me for my work, sometimes, he always encouraged me to do it in my own style,” said Saurav, who has travelled to many countries for his art.
He deals with themes like gender bias and other social issues whereas his father dealt with abstract themes like the academic realism of the East.The sculptures will be inaugurated today in the presence of artist Namboodiri, critic Prof M K Sanoo, MP Prof K V Thomas and Madhu S Nair, Chairman of CSL.
