Artist Highlights Basava’s Cultural Role
The exhibition also featured sculptures made from waste materials and works highlighting tribal art and culture.
Hyderabad:The Basava (bull), once central to agriculture from prehistoric times, is slowly losing its traditional role due to changing farming practices and technology. Seeking to preserve its cultural importance, artist Dr Hothi Basavaraj has crafted several bull sculptures in different materials, displayed here on Saturday.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Dr Basavaraj said he had been familiar with the Basava since childhood, when his mother used to make sculptures for worship. “I have also seen many people doing such sculptures and developed an interest in creating them and working on the theme for the past 30 years,” he said.
He noted that the use of Basavas in agriculture has declined with the growing reliance on technology and chemical fertilisers. “Earlier, cattle dung was used as manure, but now chemical fertilisers are widely used and their side effects can be seen,” he observed.
Among his works is a sculpture depicting Bathukamma and Bonalu together, part of a series of seven sculptures that took considerable time to complete, from sculpting to painting. The exhibition also featured sculptures made from waste materials and works highlighting tribal art and culture.
Another major artwork was his blindfolded sculptures of Lord Ganesha, Sri Rama and Goddess Durga, each completed within an hour. “Since I regularly practise sculpting, I know the measurements and can create easily even while blindfolded,” he explained.
Exhibition curator Dr Satyanarayana Dyavanapalli described the uniqueness of Dr Basavaraj’s signature artworks. He said sculptures depicting the importance of Basava in the evolution of agricultural civilisation, Saptamatrikas, Bonalu, Shivadhootha Basava, Punju Vijayam and several other works reflect the artist’s distinctive style. He added that every artwork embodies an idea, a social message and a cultural context.
