The tale of King Asoka resonates in stones of the Dhauli hillock. The story has been retold through rock sculptures by artistes from all over the state at a 10-day camp that concluded on Saturday. Organised by the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi and the Odisha tourism development corporation, the state-level sculptors’ camp was aptly titled War and Peace. The sculptors worked on the hills during the camp with a view of the Dhauli peace pagoda that inspired them to create exquisite pieces of art out of lifeless stones. Each of the 20 sculptors, including the old hands and the novices, etched their reflections of the theme of a comparison between war and peace. Most of the works showcased elements symbolising Buddha for peace, motivated by the Buddhist site.
Well-known sculptor Prashant Kumar Das, principal of the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Khallikote, created a sculpture with symbolic elements to define his insight of peace. His sculpture featured a fence with sharp and pointed railings. On either side of this fence were carvings that represented two neighbouring regions.
“War mostly takes place between the neighbouring kingdoms and the boundary between them signifies the epitome of hatred. The states, themselves, however, are symbols of peace. I have also included some characteristics of Lord Buddha to illustrate peace,” said Das.
Young sculptors such as Anadi Charan Ojha, Smruti Sai Mishra, Lalat Kishore Pradhan and Amiya Ranjan Ghadei also created some interesting depictions of the theme. Ojha showed a Dharma Chakra at the bottom of the sculpture, over which he created a shield and swords in cross to illustrate war. At the top of the sculpture, a number of roof-like structures were created as a representation of the Dhauli pagoda. Ghadei carved locks of hair as a symbolic depiction of Buddha’s messages while the structure was shaped like a piece of hill from the Himalayas. “I used engravings inside the sculpture and gave it the texture of the ice mountain,” he said.
Pradhan showcased his typical subject of machinery and levers and merged it into the war-peace theme to make a sculpture while Mishra created an abstract piece of art using elements from Mexican civilisation. He used circular textures to represent warriors of the civilisation while the squares and grids portrayed their gods. Similarly, Kanta Kishore Moharana’s work had a contemporary take on the theme. He showcased a sack of grains to present greenery and created building-like structures on it to illustrate urbanisation.
“The fight between environment and urbanisation is the latest in the historical episodes of war,” said Moharana.The works made during the camp will be installed around the Dhauli pagoda. The camp started from December 1.
