Roshan Rai on a transition period in Meghalaya’s art scenario, from brush strokes to scale modelling and 3D glasses
BURSTING SHELLS, rattling of tanks, war cry, sounds of fighter planes whistling close overhead dropping bombs, machine guns firing, debris and rubbles left of town and cities is usually the scenario pictured of a war.
Crippled by two world wars, countries globally have had their share of direct or indirect consequences with un-repairable losses during that phase of humanitarian crisis, however apart from the negativity the war brought about, many lessons were learnt and the path to greater wars spurned towards dialogue and signing of peace treaties.
Many documentations and movies of the war have been done and included in the curriculum of schools and colleges with an intention to pass on the history of un-forgetful past and perhaps avert further wars by taking a cue from the mass destruction of life and property it holds.
Conveying the same message to new generations, two Shillong men – John S Kharpuli and Barry Lyngdoh – are on a war path of peace with their innovative and unique art form called scale-modelling. Their work entails building exact replica of tanks, fighter planes and soldiers depicting the detailed World War 2 scenario.
Although new, scale modelling has added a new dimension to the art scenario in Meghalaya. It is proving to be popular, going by the crowd that gathered at a three-day festival some time ago to check out the models. The festival, 18 Degrees, was organised by the state’s Arts and Culture Department.
Excited about the appreciation and response they received, John and Barry were eager to talk about their models. “Scale modelling, a new trend of giving creative expressions to one’s ideologies fits with the concept of art in the modern world,” John said.
Displaying an array of small sized men in uniforms, with guns and tanks, jets and comma flag jeeps, the models reflected the era when the world was undergoing pain and suffering, loss of lives and property from 1939-1945.
John finds narrating history through scale modelling fascinating. “We grew up watching war movies that really captivated our thoughts to the extent that we decided to recreate history in the form of art. We hope others would develop similar interest to create not only for recognition but also for self-contentment and satisfaction,” he said.
Besides scale modelling, 3D photography was a crowd-puller. Dipankar Sinha, a local artist has moved a step ahead in portraying life forms differently through the use of 3D, giving more life and dimension to his photographs.
According to Sinha, the 3D anaglyph photographs put up for an exhibition at the 18 Degrees festival at State Central Library was perhaps for the first time in India. Visitors admired his photos with the help of 3D glasses brought from Mumbai, and tried to learn about this new art form.
“I am confident that this new art form will go a long way in taking photography in Meghalaya to a new level, giving the youth a new opportunity to play with the lens,” Sinha said.