Sunil Kandalloor’s life changed the day he set eyes on a photograph of former Cuban president Fidel Castro in a British magazine 16 years ago. “When I read the caption, I was spellbound. It was a photo of Castro’s wax model. I had never seen something like that before,” he says. That was a decisive moment for the young art student, who had completed his diploma in Fine Arts at a private institute in Kollam. “I was so fascinated by that photograph, I knew a machine could not have made it, a scientist could not have made it, or an engineer. It had to be the work of an artist. I decided to try wax sculpting,” he says.
In Kochi for the inauguration of his wax museum in Kerala, Sunil’s Celebrity International Wax Museum at Oberon Mall, Sunil looks back on his journey with a sense of achievement. “When I set out to work on my passion, I had nothing but the will to try. Those were the days before Google, remember that,” he chuckles. There was no model to learn from and no background information. “The first thing I had to learn was to duplicate the human figure,” Sunil says. He did a short course in sculpturing and started experimenting with clay models and later with wax. “I spent eight years in my room at my house in Kayamkulam trying to make models. I would buy candles in bulk and coloured powder. My room was almost textured in wax by the time I acquired the skill,” he says.
Sunil’s first wax sculpture was a bust of Lord Guruvayurappan, inspired by a poster, which he had bought from the Guruvayur temple. “I reworked it some 30 times,” he says. The final version is on display at the Devaswom museum at Guruvayur. “By that time, I had more or less learnt the tricks and the challenges of the trade,” he says.
Former Kerala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran was Sunil’s first live model. “It was in 1998. I requested him to spare me some time to take measurements and get some photos and he was very encouraging. Seven months later, I presented the model.” Since then, Sunil has made more than 125 wax models of which 35 he destroyed. “When you are dealing with real people, even a minor error appears magnified.”
Sunil uses ordinary candle wax. “Wax has a glossy effect, which is a problem when creating human sculptures. But when the coloured powder is mixed to it, that problem is solved,” he says. He uses real hair on his sculptures and acrylic eyes, which he makes himself. Sunil says the process of wax sculpting can be divided into three major stages—creating a model, preparing a mould and casting. He does the model in clay. The material for the mould depends on the posture of the model. For a “sitting” posture, fibreglass is used, for “standing”, it is plaster of Paris and for an “action” pose, it is silicon.
The greatest challenge, he says, is getting the expression right. Even if the dimensions are perfect, from a wrinkle to a laugh line, the eyes have to capture the soul of the person. Wax sculptures last perfectly well in room temperature. In cold conditions, they tend to harden and small cracks may appear. However, they regain their original form under normal temperature. “They just need to be protected against dust.”
Sunil uses original eyelashes for his sculptures. Sunil has what he calls a “farm” where hair and related accessories are stored. He has hair and eyelash donors, who are mostly his friends. The hair and eyelashes are injected into the sculpture with a needle, which Sunil has designed himself. A human sculpture is made in 6 parts, so the clothes can be fitted by dismantling the figure.
Sunil marvels at his own evolution as a wax sculptor. “My work has come a long way from my initial days as a sculptor.” Earlier, I have taken almost a year to complete one figure. But now, I need just 20 days, and I could even create a sculpture just by looking at a photograph. He opened a museum in Kanyakumari in 2005, but it closed down. Five years ago, he opened a museum at Lonavala in Mumbai, which has around 40 sculptures.
The Kochi museum showcases 40 of his best works, starting with his most recent ones V.S. Achuthanandan and V.R. Krishna Iyer to Mahatma Gandhi, Mannath Padmanabhan Nair, Sree Narayana Guru, K. Karunakaran and so on. The 20,000 sq.ft museum will soon accommodate more, he says. He is working on sculptures of actors Mammootty, Mohanlal and singer K.J. Yesudas. One of his dream projects, recreating Raja Ravi Varma paintings in wax sculptures, is on its way towards completion, too. These would be a special attraction at the Kochi museum. The entry fee is Rs. 150 per person.
Sunil, who lives in Mumbai now, says his ultimate dream is to build a museum that matches the standards of Madame Tussauds, London.
