Mona Lisa in coir is a big draw

Italian master Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has been recreated in coir.

The Mona Lisa in “golden yarn of God’s own country” is on display at the ongoing Coir Kerala 2013, the world’s largest coir expo showcasing a range of goods from mattings to wall paintings.

Designed and developed by local company Fiber World, the replication of the renowned painting in coir is done as a tribute to da Vinci from the ‘coir community’ in Kerala.

“The idea for Mona Lisa in coir came from a Brazilian customer. He suggested that coir, mostly used for making doormats, could be innovatively used for wall hangings,” said Roby Francis, managing director of Fiber World.

“In doormats, we use mostly six colours. In the coir Mona Lisa, we have used 13 shades, giving it a glossy and colourful look,” he said.

Fiber World had earlier made a coir wall hanging featuring Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, using 16 colours, he added.

The Marilyn Monroe wall hanging had been a huge commercial hit as it elicited good demand abroad, Francis said, adding, he expected the same response to Mona Lisa as well.

Offering an insight into the making of the wall hanging, a company designer said he first copied the painting by putting a print on a stencil plate.

It was then fixed on a PVC coir mat and separate plates made for all 13 colours used in the work. Finally, it was put in a rubber frame with wood finishing.

According to Francis, there is a big market for such coir wall hangings both in India and abroad.

The Mona Lisa wall hanging, measuring 60x90 cm, is priced at $ 9.75.

Mona Lisa had been a major attraction at Coir Kerala 2013, a six-day showpiece international event on the coir sector that began here on February 1, the organisers said.