CHENNAI: August 2, 2021, marked a momentous occasion for Tamil Nadu. a solemn function, commemorating the centenary year of the state’s legislature was conducted at the 17th century Fort St.George, Tamil Nadu’s seat of power. The celebrations, inaugurated by President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, was not just a matter of pride for the officials, but also for a motley group of creatives from the city-based art firm Silaii.
A little over a week before the historic event, the office of the Tamil Nadu government reached out to Arun Titan, founder of Silaii. “The opportunity came to me through someone I had met during my formative days as a photographer. He holds an important position in the government now and when they were thinking of creating miniatures of the Secretariat building, to be presented to the dignitaries, he thought of me. I was thrilled when this opportunity came by and my team and I started work immediately,” recalls Arun, a visual artist and photographer,.
The model, measuring almost 2 feet in width, was created using photographs of the structure for references. It was vital to get the details of the historic building right, informs Arun. “Detailing is very important when it comes to sculpting. Having a larger canvas helped us in creating the details with precision. It was a laborious and time-consuming task, the team hardly slept until the models were ready. But the effort was completely worth it!” he enthuses. The models were presented to dignitaries including President Kovind, and Governor of Tamil Nadu, Banwarilal Purohit, by chief minister MK Stalin.
On a creative pursuit
Silaii, the two-year-old venture, is a manifestation of Arun’s vision — to fuse entrepreneurship with his creative pursuits. “Our country doesn’t have a robust ‘collectables culture’ unlike foreign countries. From the models of Iron Man and other superheroes to anime characters, they have it all. However, here, it’s very limited. We have limited merchandise specific to movies and most collectables are in a 2-dimensional format. My idea was to turn imageries — of stars, leaders, everyone and everything into 3-D models,” he details. As a larger vision, Arun points that this meant bringing together skilled sculptors, chalking an organised and sustainable model for their livelihoods and taking the creations to the public. “We are working towards this model,” he says.
“We create sculptures that are rooted, offering a touch-and-feel experience, and an emotional connection to our patrons. We also take custom orders. We’ve had people ask us to recreate models of their late parents, just so that they continue to be a part of their lives. What we do is beyond just a creative pursuit or business,” shares the alumni of The Government College of Fine Arts.Silaii’s products are a combination of stone powder and resin. “We didn’t want to create fragile-hollow models. The durability of our sculptures are important to us and we ensure the components aid us in achieving it,” he adds.
Making merchandise
During the release of director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s movie Master starring actor Vijay, the brand turned the official merchandise partner for the film. As part of the promotions, models of the actor’s character from the film, measuring almost two-and-a-half feet were created by Silaii. “We had stalls, and the sculptures were also displayed in cinema halls and mall complexes like Sathyam, PVR and Phoenix MarketCity. This propelled us towards more opportunities,” he shares, adding that their products are available at Imen Connexions, Starmark and Odyssey.
From sculptures of Dravidian icons like Periyar, Anna and M Karunanidhi; actor-politician MGR, poet Thiruvalluvar, poet Bharathiyar, actor-politician J Jayalalithaa, former President late APJ Abdul Kalam to economist-politician BR Ambedkar, Silaii has been consistently adding more names and figures to its catalogue. “We receive a minimum of 100 calls a day inquiring about our sculptures. We have been continuously attempting to integrate new dimensions and technologies into our work. But we are stepping on the gas patiently to ensure the quality isn’t compromised. Currently, we are working on a few requests including recreating a model of the Gandhi statue at the Delhi Museum and another for the Tamil Heritage Trust. We are also looking for investors to scale our brand,” he shares.
The sculptures are priced from `999 onwards. For details, visit: www.silaii.com