BENGALURU: It’s orange season and the peel that we discard is artwork for 25-year-old Diksha Pradhan. Not every day do we come across figurines carved out of orange peels. But to her, they are nothing less than raw material to carve out creative figurines. “Carving art on orange peels has become a sign of attraction for guests attending parties at home,” she says. Pradhan was inspired when she saw vegetable and fruit peels being carved into art at restaurants by chefs.
Being a student of fine arts, she has always had an inclination towards art in various forms. “At Indian parties as well as the world over, the chef always tries to impress guests by their skill by carving on fruits and vegetables, apart from the dishes that they prepare. This served as an inspiration for me to start something similar,” she adds. Pradhan decided to choose orange peel for carving out art, particularly because of its colour and also because it is quite uncommon. “There are many fruits that can be used in this process, the most popular ones being watermelons, apples, strawberries, pineapples, and cantaloupes. But I wanted to do something different and hence chose orange peels,” she says.
She also does a lot of reading and her favourites are books on Japanese artwork. In Japan, the art is known as Mukimono. “When I was in Tokyo for a family vacation, I went to a restaurant and found a carrot carved into a bunny, garnishing the plate. This was when I decided to take my dreams of carving orange peels seriously,” says Pradhan. “I use a tool similar to an xacto knife and an orange to carve intricate patterns that are often inspired by traditional Japanese motifs,” she says, adding that orange is a great fruit to practise with because it is cheap and easy to carve.
When asked about what she does with all her creations after she is done, her reply is simple: She eats them, adding, “Except for the orange peel.” Her first artwork with an orange peel was a rose. “When I showed this to my grandpa, he appreciated it a lot.
This was four months back and since then, there has been no looking back,” says Pradhan. She preserves her creations in formaldehyde. As of now, she has not thought of doing it on a commercial level and only does it as a hobby. “I am planning to host an exhibition at Chitrakala Parishath soon. I believe all artworks need exposure, including orange peels,” she laughs.