Ganesh Chaturthi often brings out the more creative side of Mumbaikars, with regards to decorating pandals or even finding innovative ways and means to showcase Bappa. So while there have been idols made out of plastic bottles or even paper, this time around, a unique statue of Ganpati that sits in Ford India’s office has been the cynosure of all eyes in the city.
The idol that has been on display at Oberoi Mall in Goregaon is a 6.5-foot marvel created purely out of spare auto parts. It has been put together in collaboration between artist Madhvi Pittie of Workshop Q and Nishant Sudhakaran, a metal artist from the city.
Madhvi reveals that the most challenging bit of putting the unique idol together was getting the right spare parts for it. “During our initial visits to scrap yards and automobile scrap collectors, we weren’t able to visualise the usability and flexibility of the raw spare parts,” she recounts. “It was only after several discussions with Nishant and our team that we narrowed our search, and used solid metal parts from the inside of engines, radiators, gears and more.”
As a result, the installation, made out of parts like disk brakes, spark plugs, a lot of clutch plates and even fenders was born.
The idea, reveals Madhvi, was to still create a relatable Ganpati. “We wanted to make a traditional Ganpati, which is easily identifiable, and not give a modern take to it,” she says. “When we got the client brief about reusing spare auto parts to make a Ganpati, we instantly envisioned a sculpture in solid metal.”
Madhvi adds that it was teamwork that finally made the project work best. “Nishant and I worked as a great team. We were in constant discussions for assembling the various car parts in different places to have them look as realistic body parts of the Ganpati,” she smiles. “Nishant’s knowledge about working with the nuances of metal was truly commendable.”
This isn’t it for the co-founder of the upcycling company. She’s partnered with Ford to create smaller versions of Ganpati’s idols too. “We’re on the verge of finishing the figurines made using smaller car parts like spark plugs, washers, nuts and bolts. These Ganpatis are reminiscent of modern art, as opposed to the 6-foot statue. Besides this, an event purely on upcycling is coming up for us,” Madhvi signs off.
