In solidarity with farmers protesting on the outskirts of Delhi, a group of artists, poets, sculptors, and theatre artistes in far-away Kochi have been working on terracotta sculptures representing the protest.
“We hope to send some energy to the protesters from here. A protest like this one, where those who grow our food have been out on the streets for so many days, should have brought the country to a standstill, but most of us here go on with our regular lives,” said artist Sunil Vallarpadam. The artists, part of a collective called Kalakar Keralam, have set up a makeshift workshop in the courtyard of the Durbar Hall Art Gallery, where sculptures, several of seeds and birds, and many figurines, are being created for a show at Jos Junction on January 26, the day the farmers’ groups will take out a tractor rally in Delhi.
Scarecrows, made of hay and cloth, will also be part of the show, and hundreds of these will be installed across the city on the day of the show, said V.K. Jayan, sculptor and artist. Since the project, called Kathirum Kalayum, began on Friday, between 50 and 100 people have been part of it daily, he added. “People who come to visit and watch us work also contribute to making the sculptures,” he said.
Most of them have been working all day and well into the night. They are hoping to hit a target of one-thousand sculptures for the day of the show.
“Sitting here, far away from Delhi, art is one way for us to react to the situation,” said Anil B. Krishna, artist and sculptor from Thuravoor. The terracotta figures will be dried and then baked on Monday night before the show on Tuesday.
