Waste disposal is a huge challenge for every Indian city, but Bhubaneswar has found a special use for some of its metal waste — it has transformed them into works of art. The Bhubaneswar Open Air Museum of Waste-to-Art, coming up in the Kalinga Nagar township, has 28 impressive sculptures created from metal scrap.
The sculptures are mostly of birds and animals, with peacocks, tigers, turtles and elephants giving a new twist to the idea of recycling metal waste. The open-air museum came about after the Artists Network Promoting Indian Culture (ANPIC), an artists’ forum, suggested holding an international public art symposium in collaboration with the Bhubaneswar Development Authority for promoting the Hockey World Cup, which will begin here on November 28.
Focus on animals
Artists from the participating countries gathered in Bhubaneswar and began work on the sculptures on November 1. “The ANPIC decided to hold the symposium on the theme of pollution. We should be careful about disposing of waste in landfills, as it may cause contamination... Animal sculptures dominate the exhibits as it is animals that are first affected by pollution,” said Kantakishore Maharana, one of the curators of the symposium. The symposium-cum-workshop ended on November 20, the day the museum was inaugurated.
Organisers had a tough time translating the idea into reality. About 50 tonnes of waste materials were collected from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Once the foreign artists landed in Bhubaneswar, they started conceptualising the art works.
Fourteen foreign and four Indian artists, along with 24 co-artists, mostly students from local art schools, and 24 welders worked tirelessly to create the sculptures, which have struck a chord among local art lovers.
