CHENNAI: Celebrating Chennai’s 375th anniversary with Ikebana — an exhibition by Chennai Sogetsu Study Group and ABK-AOTS Dosokai — was organised at the Lalit Kala Akademi recently. The exhibition was a platform for people interested in grooming plants and gardening to learn new ways of maintaining them through the Japanese art called Ikebana.
Ikebana, which is an art of floral arrangement, is a means to keep flowers alive. It depends on how focused and creative one is, said Prerana Mehta, one of the members of the group. For Ikebana, one can use any resources like fresh flowers, leaves, branches, twigs, dry material, plastics and others, according to her. One of the works on display was by Maladhi Pandaran, the tutor at the group, who has been practising the art for 40 years. Ikebana represents the philosophy of life. It brings your stress level down, depending on how much attention you put into it, said Prerana.
The exhibition, which included 65 exhibits by 20 members, had plants and flowers from various parts of the city, on display. It blended the Japanese art with the local culture, and included coconuts, cycle, ceramic jars, Indian copper water pots, banana and others as part of the display.
The flowers used in the installation were kept fresh by soaking their stems in water, either in a springed metal or cylindrical box. Showcasing a variety of flowers, leaves and logs, the exhibition brought nature at its best.