KOCHI: Picture this. A tiny airgun with dimensions of 2.5×1.5cm, a scaled-down version of a bike that fits in your palm, a pistachio shell turned into a tortoise — all these crafted using refuse and scrap. For instance, 18-year-old Joji Joshy Joseph takes inspiration from the most unlikely articles to create his art. As someone who stores up every piece of scrap — be it electronic items, watches or toys — it comes as no surprise that he uses these to fashion new articles.
It all started during the last lockdown when Joji was done with his Class X exams. “I have this habit of storing broken scrap pieces. One day, I was looking at the refuse and thinking of pieces I can use to create a miniature gun. That is how it started,” recalls Joji, a Changanassery native. Joji took a week to craft the miniature AK-47. Next, he created the miniature bike in 120 days. Since then, he has been making myriad collectibles that fit in one’s palm.
Having made over 26 miniature guns of different kinds, Joji is now a pro at it. He uses rubber, wire, safety pin, sequin pin and others to create the guns like Mossberg-590, Xmb carbine, Awm sniper, Fn scar, Kar 98, RPG 7 and bikes.
The young craft artist was into clay modeling when he was young. When he had free time in hand during the lockdown, it rekindled his passion for making such articles. Joji’s major ingredient for the miniature magic is always going to be wasted. “I spend most of the time thinking what articles I can use and what final product can be crafted out of them. It is fun watching all these discarded items become something. It gives you a great deal of joy and satisfaction,” says Joji, who is also working on custom orders now.