A cop who sculpted wonders in Kollam

KOLLAM: Guruprasad Ayyappan, the senior civil police officer to be honoured with the chief minister’s police medal 2017 on the Independence Day in Kollam, is not just a cop but a sculptor with three state awards under his belt. 

In the field of sculpting for the last 33 years, he has his style of sculpting, the square sculptures. His works include the 44-feet tall ‘Kailasanathan’, the largest single sculpture in the state.

Hailing from Vayalil Kizhakkethil in Thirumullavaram here, Guruprasad, 49, is attached to the Pallithottam Police. 

He graduated with a gold medal from College of Fine arts, Thiruvananthapuram, in 2001, specialising in sculpting. 

He started pursuing his passion in 1984 as a disciple of M.C. Sekhar who in turn was a disciple of Deviprasad Roy Chowdhury.

He won the Kerala Lalithakala Academy award in 2005 for ‘Woman - Real and Imagination’, followed by "honourable mention" for ‘The Post-Modern Slave’ in 2008 and ‘Yathra’ in 2016. 

He has also conducted several state-level exhibitions. 

The ‘good students’ sculpture in Idukki, ‘God of justice’ at Artist Sankar Smaraka Museum in Alappuzha, ‘love without brain and heart’ in Kollam adventure park, ‘Panchatantra’ in Umayanalloor, and 12 stylized sculptures of Koodiyattam installed at a private resort in Valakom, are some of his sculptures that received accolades.

“I have developed my style of sculpting by avoiding minute details and focusing on the reactions and shapes of these sculptures. If we cut them into cross sections, we could find square or rectangle. After cubism, there existed square sculptures formed using squares and rectangular blocks. I have developed this into a different form by inculcated various shapes into them,” he told DC.

He is also writing a book Chathura Silpangal on square sculptures and its techniques. The book consists of an aesthetic approach to art works and over 100 drawings of 24 ethnic art forms of Kerala that can be used in sculptures. 

Guruprasad joined the police in 1998. He has wife T. Preetha and children Aditya and Vidhu.