Bengaluru (Karnataka): A businessman from Karnataka's Koppal had surprised guests at his house warming ceremony with a statue of his deceased wife. The pictures of the statue had gone viral on social media, with people marvelling at how life-like it was.
Looking at the quality of the work, many thought the statue was built abroad. However, the fact is that the silicone wax statue was built by a Bengaluru-based sculptor Shreedhar Murthy, who has been in the business for 22 years.
Murthy, from the city's Nagasandra area, hails from a family of sculptors. His father Kashinath was a known sculptor who has won many state honours like the Jakanachari Award.
Upon completing his graduation, Murthy decided to carry on his father's legacy. Over a period of 22 years, numerous statues have been sculpted by Murthy.
Murthy then established his own firm 'Gombe Mane' in 2017. With utmost pride, Murthy recalled the work of his ancestors, many of who he said were artisans in the courts of Mysore kings.
Murthy said that silicone wax, with which he made the statue for the Koppal businessman, is more special when compared to other materials. He said that statues made of silicone wax are not damaged easily, and even the colour does not get faded for several years.
Read: Karnataka: Man installs stunning statue of late wife at home
Apart from Murthy, 15 other staff of 'Gombe Mane' were involved in the making of the silicone wax statue, and succeeded in the first attempt.
"We decided to use fiberglass as a skeleton for the silicone. First, a mould is made with clay or plaster of Paris and then the fiberglass is poured over the mould to set. We use this as the skeleton and add the sculpted silicone on top of the fiberglass. That's what we did for Srinivas in Koppal," Sridhar said.
