TOI correspondent from London: Sudarsan Pattnaik , sand sculptor from Odisha, won the first ever Fred Darrington award for excellence in art and culture for his 10-feet high sand sculpture of Lord Ganesha, which will be showcased in Dorset in south-west England until Nov.
The award was launched at SandWorld on Saturday to mark 100 years since legendary sand sculptor Darrington first started making artistic sand sculptures on Weymouth beach in 1925.
Pattnaik, a Padma Shri awardee, is also the first Indian sculptor to exhibit at SandWorld, an annual international sand art festival, that takes place in Weymouth in Dorset to showcase the sculptures of sand artists from across the world.
The Lord Ganesha sculpture has the message "World Peace" on its plinth.
Darrington’s grandson, Mark Anderson, co-founded the festival with fellow sand artist David Hicks in 2011. In 1998 Anderson became his grandfather’s apprentice and then his assistant and now has his own spot on Weymouth beach, like his grandfather did, showcasing his sculptures.
Pattnaik was given a gold medal containing a caricature of Darrington and a glass wave containing sand from his own sculpture.
“My grandfather grew up in Weymouth just after the First World War and the beach was his playground where he made sand trenches and sand bombs. Then he got better and better and started sand sculptures professionally in 1925, aged 15, earning a living from it and people would throw money onto a matt,” Anderson told TOI.
“In the same way Sudarsan began as a very young man on the beaches in Odisha forging his own way forward. We have given this award to him for the work he has done for sand sculpture over the years, as he has an academy in India and teaches people sand art. I was in Puri in Nov and invited him to attend. His Lord Ganesha is superb,” Anderson said.
Pattnaik said he dedicated the award to his fans and hoped many people would come to visit his Ganesha sculpture at Weymouth.
The award was launched at SandWorld on Saturday to mark 100 years since legendary sand sculptor Darrington first started making artistic sand sculptures on Weymouth beach in 1925.
Pattnaik, a Padma Shri awardee, is also the first Indian sculptor to exhibit at SandWorld, an annual international sand art festival, that takes place in Weymouth in Dorset to showcase the sculptures of sand artists from across the world.
Darrington’s grandson, Mark Anderson, co-founded the festival with fellow sand artist David Hicks in 2011. In 1998 Anderson became his grandfather’s apprentice and then his assistant and now has his own spot on Weymouth beach, like his grandfather did, showcasing his sculptures.
Pattnaik was given a gold medal containing a caricature of Darrington and a glass wave containing sand from his own sculpture.
“My grandfather grew up in Weymouth just after the First World War and the beach was his playground where he made sand trenches and sand bombs. Then he got better and better and started sand sculptures professionally in 1925, aged 15, earning a living from it and people would throw money onto a matt,” Anderson told TOI.
“In the same way Sudarsan began as a very young man on the beaches in Odisha forging his own way forward. We have given this award to him for the work he has done for sand sculpture over the years, as he has an academy in India and teaches people sand art. I was in Puri in Nov and invited him to attend. His Lord Ganesha is superb,” Anderson said.
Pattnaik said he dedicated the award to his fans and hoped many people would come to visit his Ganesha sculpture at Weymouth.
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