A visitor looks at paintings at Kendriya Lalit Kala Akademi in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, July 14: The novelty of Lord Jagannath’s image and culture has captivated artists since time immemorial.

Budding artists from across the state have once again tried to express their perception and perspectives of Jagannath on various media as part of an annual art contest.

More than 500 paintings exhibited at the Kendriya Lalit Kala Akademi depict the legends of the mystic lord. Many of them have also presented interesting and unusual forms of Lord Jagannath.

Selected from more than 1,000 paintings, drawings and sketches sent in by art lovers from all over the state, there are many striking works and simple illustrations as well. Since the age of participants varies from Class IV to art graduates, the meticulousness of the art works also differs.

The artists have been judged in many categories of age. Akhaya Kumar Sethy, who has been chosen for first prize, may not have created a particularly impressive painting or artwork, but his idea is definitely unique.

In his mixed media work, he has first made a backdrop of sand on paper on which he has created a collage of headlines and news stories related to various controversies on rath yatra and Jagannath temple.

On this, he has presented a rather simple and sweet illustration of children pulling a mini chariot of Jagannath. Reetendra Mohanty, adjudged second, has expressed how there is so much food at the temple and yet children outside the temple suffer from pangs of poverty and hunger.

The winners have been chosen by eminent painters Asim Basu, Mahendra Mohapatra and Ramahari Jena. The works will be displayed at the gallery till July 18 during this five-day-long exhibition titled Jai Jagannath. The art exhibition was inaugurated today by eminent sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo and Siddharth Mohapatra of a private television channel.

“More than the perfection in art, this exhibition is significant in having brought out the wish among Odia people of various age groups to express their ideas through art. It is evident how the devotion and love for Lord Jagannath can be used to motivate artists,” said Sahoo.

This is the fifth annual edition of the exhibition for which the paintings are collected during rath yatra, after which they are displayed for art lovers.