Iron man on the rock line

Artist Venugopal developed the ‘rock line’ style 30 years ago. He first used a mixture of a commercial adhesive and clay, but it was not durable. However, he did not give up. After a lot of experiments, he zeroed in on a permanent solution — a mixture of rock sand, crystals, coconut shell carbon and gum.

“Then, I named the style ‘rock line’. Once you prepare the mixture, you have to use it within one hour,” says Venugopal, a native of Edappally, Kochi.

“It can be applied onto steel, copper or brass sheet. I would do the outline using a pencil. Then, I would make scratch on the line using some sharp object and draw a deeper outline using the mix. It is like carving a shape out of stone. The picture will be set within 24 hours. The work wouldn’t get ruined even if you put it in water,” he explains.   

Venugopal has been doing exhibitions of his rock line works for the past eight years. His first exhibition was at Durbar Hall and spectators were curious about his works. He allowed them to touch and feel the creations, which is normally not done in galleries. “That was to make people understand the strength of the medium.”

Three of his rock line works will be exhibited at the group show of 12 artists that would begin at Durbar Hall Art Gallery, Kochi, on May 22. “There will be a life-size portrait of Sardar Vallabhai Patel and medium works of Swami Vivekananda and Theyyam.”

It took him two-and-half months to complete the image of Sardar Patel, which he is planning to submit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And, Venugopal is quite excited about that. “People usually give his portrait as a gift. I thought of giving something different and hence this.”

A ‘vasthu shasthra’ professional, Venugopal also spends time to share his knowledge in the subject with youngsters.

“We have been practising vasthu shasthra for generations. That is my forte. I take free classes whenever I get time. Now, more students are coming to learn this,” he concludes.