Intricate terracotta work adorning walls and arches can be commonly seen, but what is unusual is artist Sherif Nilambur’s terracotta poster designed for the upcoming movie Balyakalasakhi.
Says Sherif, “It happened 10 years ago, when director Pramod Payyanur was with Kairali TV and I was interviewed for a show. He was amazed by the terracotta work I did and wanted me to contribute for his film. I wanted to do something unique and came up with the idea of terracotta poster for Balyakalasakhi.”
It took the artist three months to design the poster with five different varieties of clay. “A terracotta poster has been made for the first time in the history of films and it will be put up in 40 theatres across Kerala,” he added.
Sherif hasn’t mastered the terracotta art from an academy or from a trainer. A civil engineer by profession, the artist used to do some architectural designing and draw layouts according to the demands of the customer.
“Terracotta work can be put into use in a variety of ways.”
Sherif garnered the technical skills of baking and pottery from the traditional pottery village of Aravotudu.
The well-known Malayalam poet ONV Kurup who knew Sherif well gave him his first project at the Kerala Kalamandalam Art Gallery. The artist was asked to design border for a mural painting in terracotta work. This was a prestigious project for the artiste who has also participated in national exhibitions conducted in Delhi and in other cities in India.
Sherif said, “Clay is an eco friendly element and I realised that it can be put in good use. People want this work to be done in their homes as it looks elegant and is environment friendly as well.”
The artist has designed terracotta pieces for the homes of Mohanlal, Jayasuriya, Vinayan, Kavya Madhavan and Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
