A painting based on the cult of Lord Jagannath on display at an exhibition in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, July 28: Spirituality and devotion found their way to canvas with child and teenage artists coming together to take part in a painting competition based on Lord Jagannath.

Out of the 800-odd entries that were submitted, around 500 were selected in a weeklong exhibition titled Jai Jagannath.

Organised by a local news channel, the exhibition was inaugurated on Wednesday at the regional centre of Lalit Kala Akademi.

Students from primary schools to university level took part in the competition after the entries were invited during July 1 to July 19. This is the fifth year that the organisers have hosted an exhibition on Jagannath.

The assorted artworks brought out different aspects of the Lord ranging from anecdotes, legends, incarnations and rituals associated with Jagannath culture.

While Bibek Das, a student of B.K. College of Art and Crafts had portrayed Jagannath replacing the king on a playing card; seven-year old Kalyani Mahapatra had envisioned the divine Trinity as three trees in a courtyard.

Some had etched the deity as sitting on the lap of mother India and spinning the world on his fingertips while another artist imagined him to be the centre of our Milky Way.

Paintings of professional artists such as Laxman Kumar Nayak, Sangram Kumar Majhi and Parameswar Samal, who won the top three honours in the competition respectively, showcased confident brushstrokes.

Kuber Barik showed a Muslim invoking the Lord portraying that He is not confined to any particular religion. Schoolchildren focused on simple themes such as priests and devotees praying near the sanctum sanctorum.

Many kids also remembered the tale of Sri Chaitanya and reproduced his devotion on their drawing sheets. The medium used ranged from acrylic, water and pencil colours to mix media.

“To see Jagannath in such myriad avatars is enchanting,” said Priya Maharana, a visitor.