It isn’t easy to find your knight in shining armour, but at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath these days, you might just find his loyal steed replete with said shining armour.
The horse, part of an exhibition at the parishat, has been built out of nuts, bolts, springs and automobile spare parts.
Joining the metal menagerie are a bull, lion, squirrel, and even an alien.
The sculptures are the work of artiste Ilyas Ahmed, who creates art from automobile junk.
Mr. Ahmed discovered his interest and talent during his tenure at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), where he joined as a welder. Later, while working for a Dutch oil exploration firm, he spent hours giving form to scrap he collected on the ship. He crafts sculptures as small as tabletop models to large ones about 10 feet high.
One of his most elaborate creations is an American Indian, which is on display at a club on Mysore Road.
“It takes three months to make one sculpture and requires 70 to 125 kg of scrap. Each sculpture costs anywhere from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh,” says Mr. Ahmed.
The exhibition is on till January 27, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road.
