KOZHIKODE: When Bhanu Prakash started etching figures on chalk pieces in his classroom, little did he know that one day he would conduct a workshop on sculpting figures on the tiny pencil lead. Yes, pencil lead! Bhanu Prakash B, a fourth year architecture student at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, put on display one of the most unique pieces of art Kozhikode has ever come across, at ‘Impressions,’ an art expo held at the Department of Architecture at NIT in connection with Tathva ‘14, the IT fest.
In fact, fellow students and others who were walking past his exhibits had a jaw-dropping moment when they looked through a magnifying glass and realised what his work was. Bhanu Prakash had put on display pencils with their leads sculpted into alphabets, the figure of a woman and much more.
As part of the fest, he was also engaged in conducting workshops for the students of architecture who were interested in learning this art work.
When asked how he stumbled upon this talent, he said, “I used to carve out figures on chalk pieces using pen nibs back in school. I was later on exposed to works done by Dalton Ghetti, who is an expert at carving figures on pencil leads. I used to go through his works and then gave it a try.”
Bhanu first started working on simpler structures such as human face, then gradually moved on to carving cup and saucer, alphabets, heart shapes and alphabets hanging on chain inside a pencil.
About the duration of each piece of work he does, Bhanu Prakash says, “It takes me around 10 to 15 minutes to work on a pencil to carve out alphabets. It took almost three hours to create the female figure as I had to take care of perfection. But it takes around five-and-a-half hours to create the alphabet hanging on a chain. As you can see it, this is done inside the pencil. It is quite intricate, I have to create the chain which can swing, then carve out the alphabet on it without breaking it on one piece of it.”
Bhanu also explained how he chose the right kind of pencil for his work.
“I choose the pencil depending on the sculpture I have in mind. For figures that are bound to be really thin, like the shape of a heart, I choose H, HB and 2H pencil. For alphabets which are easier to make, I choose 10B and 6B.”
This budding architect had earlier exhibited his works at his college and had also conducted a workshop at Cochin University of Science and Technology.
”I do wish to conduct grand scale exhibits, but as of now I am low on the financial side. But I hope to conduct an exhibition in the future,” states Bhanu Prakash.