To show the journey of the Odia language and changing mediums of use of the language, the globally acclaimed artist has used a mix of sand and slates to create the 50-foot wide and 15-foot high sculpture at the Janata Maidan in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar.

Known for creating magic with sand, Patnaik used slates for the first time in his sculpture and it took him and his students three days to create it. Speaking to the media, he said, “My art this time includes sand, wooden slate on which we first learn to write, and Odiya letters written on it with chalk. I do not think anyone globally has ever used sand and slate together to create a sculpture.”

More than ten trucks of sand and 150 slates have been used by the Padma Shri recipient to create the artwork. The sculpture shows the past when palm leaves were used to write and letters were ingrained on stone till the digitisation era when we read on our electronic gadgets like laptops and mobile phones.

From showing the historical splendour of Odisha like the Konark temple and border of a Sambalpuri saree, the grand sculpture also demonstrates Odisha’s growth in sports and technology in recent years.