Pixel perfect 

KOCHI: Do you think solving a Rubik’s Cube is challenging, tricky and requires lots of patience? Then how about cracking 600 cubes and then creating a 3D Rubik’s mosaic portrait from it?
For 30-year-old Hariprasad C M from Thrissur, creating larger-than-life art by meticulously arranging the tiny colourful squares of the cube to reveal a portrait is like child’s play. Now a pro, Hariprasad is marking his decade-long tryst with Rubik’s Cube solving, which falls on October 2, by attempting a 3D Rubik’s mosaic art of Mahatma Gandhi using close to 600 cubes.

Like most kids, Haripasad was introduced to the Rubik’s Cube when he was gifted one by his uncle at a young age. However, he was not too keen on solving it until he was in college. “It was 10 years  ago when I came home for my holidays that I first attempted to solve the cube and cracked it. Since then, I have been cubing and have participated in a number of competitions,” says Hariprasad.

With the help of the contacts he made in World Cube Association, Hariprasad also organised a first-of-its-kind cubing competition in Kerala in 2012. “We were able to organise the competition at Amrita University. Currently, there are more than 200 cubers in the state and over 28 cubing competitions have already been held,” shares Hariprasad.

Going beyond just solving the puzzle, Hariprasad has also been mastering mosaic art using cubes. Currently a research associate in department of mechanical engineering at Amrita University, he made a mosaic portrait of Mata Amritanandamayi using 600 Rubik’s Cubes which was probably the first-ever such mosaic portrait made in Kerala. His other works include an image of Namaste, Apple’s first online store in India done using 400 Rubik’s Cubes and a floral carpet for Onam. “It takes about 10 hours to make one portrait,” he adds.

After mastering flat mosaic portraits, Hariprasad was looking to take his art to the next level. “I researched and found that nobody had ever attempted a 3D Rubik’s Cube mosaic portrait. So, I thought of trying my hand at it.”Explaining his latest work, Hariprasad says, “Basically whenever you do any mosaic portrait, you pixelate the image you want to make.

After that, I colour each pixel according to the colour of the Rubik’s Cube. I ensure every colour added to the pixel matches with the colours in the cube. However, while doing a 3D work, you need to pay attention to its perspective as well. The image is only evident when you look at it from a particular angle. For the 3D portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, I used about 550 to 600 cubes,” says Hariprasad.

Apart from being a cubing enthusiast, Hariprasad is on a mission to popularise Rubik’s Cube among people across the state. He will soon be launching a tutorial-based video series in collaboration with actress Aparna Balamurali. Besides this, an online competition is also on cards.