KOCHI: A spool of thread might look unassuming for an artistically ignorant. However, when this simple-looking spool of thread ends up in Rahul T K’s hands it transforms into beautiful pieces of art. The class X student’s tryst with thread began during the Covid times when everyone was forced to remain within the confines of the four walls of their homes.
The activity that was taken up as a means to counter boredom, has now become a full-fledged hobby for the Class X student from Kalloor near Perambra in Kozhikode.
But why thread art? According to Rahul, whose father, Mohanan T K is an artist himself, it was something different and posed a level of challenge. “For the thread art to come out perfectly well, the person has to have a perfect sense of not only artistic skills but also mathematical knowledge.”
Rahul spent the early days of lockdown researching. “A video about the thread art piqued my interest. Later on, I surfed the internet to find more such videos. There are many videos on thread art done by foreign artists. Those were very informative and helped a lot in gradually perfecting my craft,” says the youngster who spends an hour making portraits and sceneries using threads daily.
As of now, he has completed around six portraits. Rahul’s selection of personalities for the portrait has an interesting angle. “His first portrait was of Kamal Hassan, whose films he has seen multiple times,” says Mohanan.
Rahul has also made portraits of M S Baburaj, Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, Mohanlal and others. But Gen-Z and Baburaj? “Well, it so happened that when I was in Class VII, I got to learn a lesson in Malayalam called ‘Pattinte Palazhi’ which was based on M S Baburaj, the legendary Mollywood musician. Also, my father is a big fan of Baburaj master. All this worked towards me deciding to do a portrait of the maestro,” says Rahul.
To make a portrait, Rahul takes around 20 to 30 days. “Everything has to be planned intricately. One needs to be precise in connecting the threads that are woven onto nails hammered onto a wooden board,” says Mohanan.
Rahul uses black threads on a white background for the portraits. In the case of Baburaj’s portrait, he used around 4.5 km long thread. “For Mohanlal and Kamal Hassan portraits, he needed 3.5km and 2km of thread, respectively,” says Mohanan.
Besides portraits, Rahul has also made floral patterns and scenery. For the time being, the young artist has taken a small break from his hobby. “He is now preparing for his Class X examinations,” says Mohanan.
But as to whether he is serious about making his hobby a serious undertaking, Rahul says, “I have not decided yet. For now, thread art is just my hobby and I like doing it.”