Sweet display: Kerala artist makes 24-foot long Theyyam mascot with biscuits
Artist Suresh PK, better known as Davinci Suresh, toiled away tirelessly for sixteen long hours to create the 24-foot long art piece
The practice of making favourite artefacts is usually the norm across the country during the festive season but this one in Kerala is set apart from the rest. An artist in north Kerala’s Kannur built a 24-foot-long mascot of Theyyam, a ritual dance form of Malabar, on Saturday using biscuits, sweets and other bakery products, officials said.
Artist Suresh PK, better known as Davinci Suresh, toiled away tirelessly for sixteen long hours to create the 24-foot long art piece. The mascot is built of 25,000 biscuits, sweets, bread, buns, dry fruits and other bakery products.
“We heard Suresh is planning 100 different mediums to install different artefacts. So, we invited him and provided all arrangements,” said the main organiser of the event Rasheed Mohammad, a chef consultant and social worker. He said Theyyam was selected because it is the mascot of north Kerala and ritual dance season is fast approaching. He said the art was arranged at the Bharat auditorium in Kannur after laying enough cloth-wrapped tables. It attracted hordes of visitors.
“Initially I thought of using different biscuits only. Later, we had to use other products for more visual appeal. Bakery items are my 79th medium. Later, we donated all products used in the art to a veterinary farm,” the artist said in his Facebook post.
Earlier, he attempted a portrait of former President late APJ Abdul Kalam in gold, social reformer Sree Narayana Guru’s portrait in flowers and Bollywood megastar Amitab Bachchan’s in cloth masks. The Thrissur-based artist said it took about 16 hours to complete the work.
North Malabar has a glorious tradition in baking and cake-making. It is often said that in 1883, the first cake was baked in south India by one Mambally Bapu in Thalassery. Mambally Bakery, situated in the town, is still continuing the tradition. The town is famous for its three Cs - cricket, circus and cake.
