Virat Kohli has been on a rampaging form, recreating records with his scintillating performances. Paying a tribute to his favourite cricketer, a Mumbai artist has created a huge mosaic art of the Indian skipper using clay lamps aka diyas ahead of the captain’s birthday. The giant artwork, measuring 9.5 by 14 ft, has been created at a shopping complex in Navi Mumbai and has left people bemused by the striking resemblance and intricacies.
“Virat [Kohli] is shining like a bright light at the moment and with the Diwali approaching, I thought this would be an apt way to pay tribute,” curator and artist Abaasaheb Shewale told indianexpress.com. “As his birthday is on November 5 and that is also the day Diwali is starting this year, it felt the right thing to do,” said the 31-year-old artist, who specialises in push-pin mosaic artwork and pencil sketch.
It took 4482 clay diyas and the help of five other artists to recreate the ace batsman’s portrait. “I sourced the clay lamps from the market and painted them all by myself. But as we had to assemble the entire portrait in a night, six of us had to pitch in to finish it on time,” Shewale said.
Financed by self, an ardent fan of Kohli, the cricket buff spent around Rs 10000 for the grand project. When looking for a venue to display his work, the record-holder artist, who has a record in making mosaic art with maximum push-pins, said he sent out proposals to many malls. “But it was Seawoods who responded first to my proposal, so, we went ahead to make the portrait there,” he further said.
Claiming that it is ‘world’s largest diya mosaic art’, Shewale said he has also notified Guinness Book of World Records and are waiting for an official confirmation.
The artwork was opened for public on October 29 and will be at display in the mall until November 10.
The making video:
