The night news broke of Mohanlal’s monumental Dadasaheb Phalke Award win was a sleepless one for artist Rajendran Vadakkepadath. Overwhelmed by excitement and a rush of creative inspiration, he found himself drawn to his canvas in the quiet hours.
With meticulous mathematical precision and carefully chosen strokes, Rajendran embarked on a heartfelt tribute. He brought the legendary actor’s image to life through anamorphic art, using a dazzling array of acrylic colors. This intricate process took him a dedicated 15 hours to complete. “I wanted to do something truly special and unique to mark this incredible occasion. Transforming Mohanlal into an anamorphic artwork felt like the perfect homage,” Rajendran shared.
This wasn’t Rajendran’s first venture into creating anamorphic masterpieces of Mohanlal. He had previously immortalized the iconic ‘Kunhali Marakkar’ character in this fascinating art form, and also paid similar tributes to Tamil cinema giants like Suriya and Rajinikanth.
Beyond anamorphic art, Rajendran’s artistic talents span various mediums. He’s renowned for his distinctive leaf-cutting art, crafting intricate portraits of figures such as Diego Maradona and Lata Mangeshkar onto banyan tree leaves. His versatility is further showcased in his letter art, dedicated to legendary singers like Mohammed Rafi and actors like Tovino Thomas.
Anamorphic art, which often defies traditional display methods, stands out for its unique presentation. While it’s a concept many are familiar with today, surprisingly few artists delve into its complexities. Rajendran believes this is largely due to the challenging nature of the art form.
The magic of anamorphic art lies in its distorted appearance from most angles, only to reveal a perfectly normal image when viewed from a specific vantage point or through a curved reflector. Rajendran ingeniously uses a steel pipe, preferring it over fragile cylindrical glass mirrors, to achieve the desired effect. “Glass mirrors can be quite fragile and risky to handle,” he explained.
He elaborated on his process, detailing how he stretches the image to encompass a 270-degree perspective. When this stretched image is then reflected in a 90-degree cylinder, it magically appears normal. “The underlying concept might seem simple, but perfecting it demands immense patience and precision,” he noted.
Though its origins are said to be in China, anamorphic art boasts a rich history spanning centuries. Rajendran recounted fascinating tales of ancient kings employing this art to cleverly encrypt and conceal their messages, adding another layer of intrigue to this captivating artistic tradition.