Did you ever think a burnt matchstick can symbolise domestic violence against women?
Well, a 19-year old student has sculpted just that and has been chosen to represent India in Sweden for his design. Siddanth Shetty’s work, An Indian Summer will be showcased at the Swedish Inno-vations Indian Interpreta-tions — a part of the Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week.
Design was a passion for this creative lad, who left Mumbai in search of something challenging. “I needed to move out of my comfort zone and that’s why I decided to shift to Bengaluru. This city provides a very conducive setting for creative people,” says Siddanth.
So how did this contest happen? “I took part in a weekend sculpture workshop in college and I heard about this competition. We were told to incorporate an Indian touch to Swedish innovation.”
Siddanth chose a matchstick as his element. He teamed it up with a theme inspired by the iconic film maker Ingmar Bergman’s movies. Bergman’s film, The Virgin Spring which is about the rape of a young woman seemed to strike the chord with Siddanth as he correlated that to the plight of Indian women who are victims of domestic violence.
Siddanth’s work will be displayed by the Swedish Embassy in an art gallery in New Delhi and at the Nobel Memorial Party which is conducted at the Swedish Ambassador’s residence.
