From waste to wow!

Here’s a man who creates magic with waste, coming up with aesthetically appealing objects. Unnikrishnan Chowara makes sculptures with discarded products like pens, refills, eggs shells and coconut parts.Glancing through his creations, we see that the idol of Lord Ganesha made out of thermocol and coconut shells really stands out.A Sabarimala Ayyappa figure made out of carving two coconut husks also looks wonderful. “It’s my pleasure to dedicate this piece of artwork to the devotees of Lord Ayyappa,” he says.Unnikrishnan also dabbles in poetry, his themes being mostly religious. His poem ‘Manikandaswamiye Kanuvan Kande Madaguvan’, written from his own personal experience of walking from Erumely to Sabarimala describes the spirit of the pilgrims.The ability of entwining each sculpture with poetry makes his work quite unique. “Each and every sculpture has a story to tell and I say it with poetry,” he says. He makes miniature house models out of aluminium sheets too.Unnikrishnan began his artistic journey by making small artifacts, especially of Ganesha idols. Though he worked in a private firm in Aluva, art has always been a central part of his life. His father Rama Pisharady was also an artist and that meant he was exposed to the world of art since childhood.These days Unnikrishnan’s attention is taken up by egg shell art, and his focus is into environmental issues. The sculpture of a man felling a tree made by placing quail and hen’s egg shells on refills and pens is very striking. He  enhances the piece with a poem on deforestation. “Art is a passion for me and I don’t intend to sell my sculptures. My aim is to showcase real life and religious spirit of the layman by transforming discarded products into art. And I hope to be successful at it.”