Sand artist pays tribute to Kollywood on Elliot’s beach

Even on a sunny day, Sudarsan Pattnaik is the most comfortable on sandy beaches and the happiest when he’s working with grains of sand, creating unimaginably huge structures. While ruined sandcastles leave most of us heartbroken, Sudarsan looks forward to creating a new sculpture once he’s done with one. Even the 48-foot sandcastle, which he built a couple of years ago on the beach in his hometown Puri in Odisha to set a Guinness World Record for the tallest sand structure, was also a short-lived one, he acknowledges. The Padma Shri awardee was recently in Chennai to pay his tribute to the superstars of Tamil cinema — Rajinikanth, Ajith and Vijay — through the medium of sand.

“I feel it is an honour for me to create the sculptures of three big stars, not just of Kollywood, but of the Indian cinema on the whole. Though I had created only three sculptures, this is my tribute to all the stars of Kollywood. Sand is a unique medium. I’m elated to be paying the tribute to these stars in their mother land, using sand from their land,” the 42-year-old artist told DT Next as he worked on final touches for the sculptures, created for a Tamil film awards ceremony.

The Odisha-based artist has often used his sand art as a means to raise awareness on various socio-political issues — from climate change to the refugee crisis. His love for philosopher and poet Thiruvalluvar’s writings got him closer to Tamil Nadu, he said. “Tamil Nadu is like my second home. I was very much drawn to poet Thiruvalluvar’s writings and have a good association with the Tamil Sangams in Tamil Nadu and Bhubaneswar. I have created Thiruvalluvar’s sculptures across the country using sand — in Puri, Visakhapatnam, etc. In the current day, people are fighting each other around the world. Thousands of years ago, Thiruvalluvar spoke of the need for unity. I think everyone should learn about him for his universal truths,” stressed Sudarsan.

“Beach is my canvas,” he asserted, adding that he tries to create something unique each time he gets an opportunity. “Even if the sculpture is destroyed, the sea gives me a new canvas every day. Everyone asks me why I create temporary sand sculptures and not permanent ones on canvases. But I look at it this way — when I don’t know what is going to happen next in my life, why shouldn’t my art remain temporary too?” said the artist, who estimated creating a few lakhs of sand sculptures over the past 25 years he has been working with the medium. He has visited over 100 countries, representing India at various international sand art competitions. Every beach is a new challenge as the sand is of different texture, he noted.

As an artist, he feels responsible for making people think, Sudarsan said. “I’m creating public art, which everyone views on the beaches. So, I try to give out positive messages that the society needs, like on environment and saving our planet,” he added. Growing up in Odisha, Sudarsan recalled taking a lot of interest in drawing and painting. “I used to work as a domestic help at my neighbour’s house and couldn’t afford stationery. I realised the sea gave me a free canvas through sand, so I began making sculptures whenever I found time. After people began appreciating my work, it gave me the power to work on the art form,” he remarked.