HAIKOU, February 14. /TASS/. China's Hainan strives to popularize the artistic carving of sea shells and products made from them, reported the Haikouwan portal.
According to him, in recent years, the old specialists of a small Haikou company, which previously specialized in the production of decorative products from coconut shells, have played an important role in promoting this type of art. About 20 years ago, they agreed to educate the younger generation in the traditional technology of processing the mother-of-pearl material, which can be found almost everywhere on the Hainan coast.
“We have masters of their craft, they were ready to share their experience with anyone,” recalls the leading expert in this field Zhou Renci. “Carving on shells has already become an inseparable part of me. Even if [on Hainan] there are no more representatives of this profession, I will try to pass on the art [to future generations]. "
As he noted, there were always few people willing to learn this craft, because in order to master this art, one has to spend a lot of time and effort. However, the efforts of Zhou Renzi were not in vain, since inlaid crafts were in high demand in the local market and are eagerly purchased by tourists.
"Currently, there are just over 10 specialists in this area on Hainan, they can be counted on one hand," he said.
The future of shell carving
As Zhou Renci explained, by the end of the 20th century, the art of mother-of-pearl inlay in the provinces "began to decline," so active efforts are needed at the current stage to preserve this type of craft. According to him, most of the people who studied shell carving with him preferred to work in related industries with less labor-intensive materials.
The artist said that the art of inlay work on Hainan is very promising, since the province has a lot of raw materials for large-scale production of mother-of-pearl items. He noted that the locals usually throw out shells, removing pearls and shellfish from them.
“I hope that thanks to my art, this material, mistakenly perceived as waste, will be put to good use again,” stressed Zhou Renci. The specialist added that with the help of the craft there is another opportunity "through creativity to capture the events of Hainan, thanks to artistic carvings to preserve valuable memories for future generations."
He noted that there are no permanent professional exhibitions on the island that would be dedicated only to this type of art. “I hope that in the future, Hainan will create specialized galleries and museums - permanent exhibition venues, thanks to which even more people can enjoy Hainan's mother-of-pearl masterpieces,” concluded Zhou Renci.