Playing with sand, creating art

BANGALORE: Children are often restricted from playing with sand, but artist Raghavendra Hegde not just enjoys playing with sand but creates art in the process.His journey to this art form though is not as lucid as his art.Born to an agrarian family, he landed in Bangalore to pursue sculpting at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat. But as a painter and a sculpture, he could not make a living.“This is an age when: If someone wants a modern art, they can Google it and get printouts. This has closed the market for artists like me. However I still paint for my personal satisfaction,” said Hegde.He got his hand literally dirty after he saw a video on Youtube. “I watched a video of a German artist, who ‘performed’ images on sand. This video inspired me. I started trying this form on my own. Initially, I found it hard to move the sand to form images. It took me months of practice to perform the art.”Currently, Raghavendra Hegde claimed, he was the only solo sand artist in India.“There are groups who perform. According to me, I am the only solo artist,” he said.He has performed over 50 shows in India ranging from corporate events to cultural events.On his use of the word performance, he explained, “Sand art is a performing art, where the artist is also entertaining the crowd by forming thematic images on sand in smooth transition.” Initially, people found it hard to acknowledge his performance as an art form as it was new to them.“My friend arranged for me to perform an an annual day event at JSS auditorium on June 6, 2010. The reaction from the audience encouraged and inspired me,” he said.With increasing awareness, people gave the form its due and admired the flow of images create with just sand.“Now, people approach me to teach this art form. I tell them that I am a learner and hence I cannot teach them. Also, I do not want to teach an art form that does not yet generate an assured and sustained income,” he said.His journey to adapt this art form to Indian performances made him experiment with musicians. He provided visual imagery as an accompaniment to music.“I have performed with various classical singers in the City such as H S Venugopal and Prakash Sontakke. This melange of audio and visual manages to create a new world for the audience,” he said.So the next time, someone discourages playing with sand, you know the story to be narrated to them.The art itselfHe performs his work on a self made glass table. To customise it, he has installed lights in the table which paints his sand pictures in vivid colours.“My wife controls these lights according to the images I create. I place a camera above my work table which is connected to a projector. Thus, thousands of people can view my work even as I am performing,” he says.To catch glimpses of his work and his journey, visit www.sakalastudio.com.