KOCHI: Picture an art piece that you can glimpse only if you are lucky. It shall be visible to you only for a split second and it comes crumbling down. The artist of these momentary pieces, 17-year-old Rohith K P calls himself a ‘stone throw artist’, as there is no particular name for the art he does. He throws a few stones up in the air and they align themselves in a particular space and time to show you a picture, before falling off like a house of cards. One should be armed with a camera, recording the whole act in slow-motion mode to watch the art in all its glory.“I can never see the art. All I can see is a set of metal pieces going up in the air. If you are lucky enough, you can maybe make out the art for a split second,” says Rohith.
Stone Art: the beginning
During the last lockdown, the self-taught artist wanted to do something unique and started creating portraits using stones. Instead of giving pencil shades or colours, it is the stones that would do the trick. “I would first make a pencil sketch and arrange the stones according to the shape and contour,” says Rohith. Once the stones are removed, the art disappears. Rohith entered the India Book of Records and the Asia Book of Records for creating a unique portrait of A R Rahman using small stones.
Rohith started using baby metal stones much later. He places the initial drawing on a plywood plank and fills it up with metal stones. When he deftly throws it in the air, for a magical moment, the art appears. “The angle is important. I still struggle to find the correct angle, which involves plenty of trial and error,” says the artist. Rohith wears a white T-shirt every time he juggles the art. “The likelihood of the art not appearing is huge. I then start the process again. It takes around one and a half hours to make the art. Then in just 6 seconds, it disappears after I throw up in the air,” he quips.
His first art was a portrait of actor Mohanlal. Later, he successfully created portraits of actors like Kamal Haasan and Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas. Having completed his twelfth grade, Rohith hopes to pursue art as his career and join a fine arts college. Ask him about his dream and pat comes the reply. “I want to see Mohanlal. And I want to make art,” says Rohith.
Find his works at: @_rohith_kp