Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiwork Media Network - Mangaluru (JS/CLP)

Mangaluru, Jan 18: It was a treat for art lovers in the city as Prasad Art Gallery brought together works of various artists for its exhibition marking the completion of its 20 years.

The unique exhibition of installation art was formally inaugurated on Sunday January 18 at Ballalbagh here.

Jaganath Shetty Bala, the president of Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists' Union, inaugurated the exhibition by unveiling a giant image of a spider on its web.

Speaking on the occasion Bala appreciated the installation art organized by Prasad Art Gallery and the support Koti Prasad Alva, the director, has given to artists. He also praised Dinesh Holla's work and the depiction of the lifeline of DK river Netravati in his art.

He thanked Koti for giving him the opportunity to inaugurate the function. Bala admired the sculpture which depicted the culture and literature of Dakshina Kannada.

Praveen Panchitaya said, "Installation art is usually considered as a art done with scrap but it shows us how scrap can be used to create beautiful sculptures. We usually sell old bicycles to scrap yard, but artist Harish here has shown how these cycles can be converted into a beautiful sculpture."

Ganesh Somayaji, secretary of Karavali Chitrakala Chavadi and Koti Prasad Alva were the other dignitaries on the dias.

A drawing competition for children was also organized which saw enthusiastic participation.

The exhibition featured installation art by 21 artists including Sapna Noronha, Dinesh Holla, Alva's College, Jayashri Rai, Sharath Holla and others.

Each art conveyed a meaningful message on various topics like environmental protection, water pollution, technology, human emotions and so on. Jayashri Rai's work on Swacch Bharat campaign depicted how one needs to clean oneself first, have a clean heart and mind and get rid off corruption. Sapna Noronha's 'Work of Plough' depicted how ploughing turns out to be a glorious rewarding work even though it involves a lot of hard work in tough conditions, and similarly human hearts need to be softened through 'ploughing' and their hidden potential unearthed.

Dinesh Holla's 'Karavaliya Prabhavali' stressed on the need to save the river Netravati, the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada district, in the wake of Yettinahole project. Sharath Holla's art work depicted elderly parents' yearning for their children's love and care.