This Odisha teenager turned to art during the lockdown, makes sculptures with matchsticks

The COVID-19 lockdown made many children and youngsters get hooked to their tablets and smartphones. While most parents have been worried about the time their children have been spending on social media and online games, 18-year-old Saswat Ranjan Sahoo decided to make the most of the free time.

The teenager from Puri, Odisha, spent his lockdown time to become an artist and started creating unique sculptures with matchsticks. Saswat said he was bored during the lockdown and took to art to keep himself occupied. While most artists have a different canvas or use items like plastics and fabrics for their artwork, Saswat used matchsticks to make elaborate sculptures.

“The idea struck me one day when there was a power cut in my area. I lit a diya with a matchstick and began arranging the rest in a pattern. This made me wonder whether I could create something out of the matchsticks," Saswat told Edex Live.

Saswat bought a whole lot of matchboxes. He said that most of the shopkeepers would laugh at him and ask him why he needed so many matchboxes in one go. “I am always unable to explain this to them," he said.

Using thousands of such matchsticks, the 18-year-old has managed to create lifelike sculptures of a tank, a radio, and even an idol of Lord Jagannath, his first matchstick project. To build the sculpture, he used about 7,881 matchsticks and took about 21 days to complete the piece.

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Since then, he has been trying to make at least one piece of art every month. In fact, when World Radio Day was celebrated on February 13, Saswat took the opportunity to make a radio with 3,130 matchsticks.

“Presently, the program ‘Mann Ki Baat’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi helps to promote the radio culture in India. Through this model, I convey my support towards the radio industry and listeners,” he told Orissa Diary.

While Saswat is the main artist behind the work, his family, including his parents and his elder brother, also helped by making the sculptures fireproof by removing the heads of the matchsticks.

"Art excited me but I seldom found time to practice it. During the lockdown, with classes being online, I got the opportunity to practice and renew my love for art. I am a self-taught artist and whatever I make is born out of experimentation," said Saswat.

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