Worth his whale

KOCHI: Sujeesh K Falari, a Fort Kochi-based artist, had an idea lingering on his mind for a long time. He used the lockdown days to work on it. The result: the youngster has built a 4.5 m-long installation from waste chappals and pieces of wood collected from seashore. This activity has helped him use his lockdown days to generate awareness on environmental issues. 

Starting in the second week of April, Sujeesh completed the installation titled ‘Whale’ in just 20 days.  
“With the arrival of Covid-19, humans have realised the grave mistakes they committed towards the environment. Still, many behave callously, without thinking about the future. ‘Whale’ is a reminder to them,” said Sujeesh.  It is high time that people become conscious of nature, points out the 25-year-old.    
“Even though we throw away unwanted things, the ocean has always pushed it back to the shores. Besides, the flora and fauna are deeply affected by our actions. It’s just that we are not bothered to recognize it so far and the concept of the installation was originated out of that thought,” he said. 

He was regularly collecting scrap from Fort Kochi south beach in the early stages of lockdown. “Apart from the wood and leather, I have even utilised almost two kilos of nails removed from the wood logs that floated my way. Besides, 1,000 sandals of varied and brands also went into the work,” said Sujeesh An alumni of Sacred Hearts college, Sujeesh is also a professional photographer who travels across the country and worked as assistant lensman for several movies like Kettiyollaanu Ente Maalakha, Unda, Allu Ramendran etc. Still, the hectic schedule is not stopping him from giving back to nature. 

“As plenty of daily use materials, electronics and construction waste is being discarded everyday, I am planning to make a few more installations on the same theme. I got a skeleton of a large fish and I’m planning to fill it with scrap i collected. A few more works are also on the anvil and we will keep on cleaning the area as well,” he added.