I am quite enamored by artists who use a specific medium to express themselves. Their consistency in the use of the medium often becomes their message and their identity marker. Be it water colours or corrugated tin or plywood or paper pulp, artists seek a creative joy while toying with these materials. The familiarity of their choice becomes the key aspect of their art. In this context, one artist’s tryst with surgical cotton has been super-admirable.

Around two years ago, I met the Nasik-based cotton sculptor Anant Khairnar in his hometown Jawhar. Jawhar’s festive Dusshera was an ideal occasion for me to understand his growing up years in a tribal remote region. Being an easily accessible person, Khairnar made me privy to the transitions, personal and professional, which ultimately led him to choose surgical cotton as his preferred medium.

Later, I wrote about him in my Midday column which received considerable attention online and offline. Ever since I have been in touch with the Guinness Book Record holder who has experimented with cotton for the last three decades. The range of his work is zapping — from 12-feet tall Rama idol made for Nasik’s Kumbh congregation to the most recent 2.5 feet Swami Vivekanand, which he is now giving finishing touches to. An art lover in Kolkata has specially commissioned the Vivekanand creation, which also speaks for Khairnar’s nationwide admirers who value his art. It is not just the finesse in his work that makes his so sought-after, but Khairnar is most admired for the self-financed research (often extensive travel) he conducts before taking on an assignment. The research is directed towards understanding, rather viewing, the subject before attempting to recreate it in the cotton avatar.

Also it is not just the accolades, or the 2000-odd cotton sculptures to his credit, that make Khairnar a great artist. For the 52-year-old sculptor, the real joy is in constant experimentation. He experiments with types of cotton, the chemicals and the glue that hold the cotton in the intended shape and form, the natural dyes that complement his medium, and also the instruments that aid his hands while he infuses life in cotton artifacts — whether it is Lord Ganesha or Mahatma Gandhi or Amitabh Bachchan. His cotton representation of the Life Insurance Corporation logo has also received profuse praise.

What is even more commendable is his willingness to share his knowledge. His current clientele and fanbase puts him in a position of privilege, where his art is unrivalled. But Khairnar believes in giving back to his art lovers and younger artists.

Despite his earlier reservations against demos, he has now started with short one-hour do-it-yourself cotton art tutorials. The recent one in Nasik, where he created a Shivaji Maharaj bust, was a tremendous success. Hopefully, younger and diverse artists will learn from Khairnar.

In popular imagination, surgical cotton is equated with medical use. It evokes the imagery of open wounds. Soft raw cotton is associated with pillows and mattresses, not to forget the cotton wicks used in Indian poojas. It is exactly these popular equations and associations that Khairnar aims to counter. For him, surgical cotton is a world in itself. I am sharing the photos of his recent work, which prove his rich explorations of cotton possibilities! I hope you enjoy Khairnar’s cotton cosmos!