MUSEUM OF DRIFTWOOD FIGURES
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| Raji, Bay Island Driftwood Museum at Kumarakom, Kottayam 686563 |
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Natural
wooden pieces deposited by the sea on beaches often reveal a sculptured
finesse that is appealing. With
her collection of such driftwood, Raji has started the Bay
Island Driftwood Museum at Kumarakam, Kottayam.
This is the 1st such museum in Kerala.
Raji
had collected such driftwood for over 20 years when she was in Andaman and
Nicobar Islands along with her husband Punnoose Cherian, then a Chief
Engineer in the Ministry of Water Transport, Government of India.
It
was in 1975 that they went to the island.
They stayed there for 25 years.
In the evenings she used to take her son to the beaches.
And it was such picnics that made her an artist.
Although
she had no formal training in any of the visual arts, she could discern
some shapes in the driftwood lying on the beach.
She took one piece home and chiseled and filed it into a fish.
She named it ‘Pike’ – the first sculpture done by her.
Later
she started giving more attention to driftwood while strolling through the
beach. Initially her figures
were meant as toys for her son. But
later the work became a passion and the figures graduated from
toys to works of art.
Seeing
her exhibits one could comment: created by sea, polished by Raji.
Courtesy: K.Tony Jose (text), P.Peethambaran (photo), Sree, Malayala Manorama, 2001
Contributed by: Administrator
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