Watch: Expat Indian family in Abu Dhabi makes mammoth screw art installation dedicated to UAE

Abu Dhabi: An Indian expatriate family in the UAE has made a massive screw art work of the UAE’s ‘Spirit of the Union’ image, along with the logo of Expo 2020 Dubai. The art work using 300,000 screws has entered the Arabian Book of World Records as the world’s largest screw art, the man of the family, EA. Sirajudheen told Gulf News.

Sirajudheen, 45, and his wife Badariya, 39, who hail from the south Indian state of Kerala, decided to create the mammoth art work as a tribute to the UAE on its 50th National Day. “Our kids Shehzad, 14, and Zia, 11, also joined us,” said Sirajudheen, who runs Brightway Tyres and Auto Service. “The art work is made with plywood sheets, screw and spray paint. It is made of 20 frames with 300,000 screws. The installation weighs 460kg, is 444cm high and 555cm wide,” Sirajudheen said.

The couple said they found that the Guinness World Record was for an art work that used 250,000 screws. “So, we decided to make it even bigger,” said Badariya. They said they first pasted sticker prints of the images on different pieces of the boards and then used hand drills to fix the screw. After spray-painting with black, red, green and gold paints, those boards were combined to create the full frame.

Safest place

Badariya, who has been raised in the UAE, said the country has been home to her and her siblings and now her children as well. “I love everything about this country. The people here are very hospitable and this is the safest place for women. The respect we women get here is something very special.”

Sirajudheen, a former aeronautical engineer, who switched to business after coming over to the UAE 24 years ago, said: “We are thankful to this country and the leaders for everything we have in life.”

It took one month for the family to complete the project, said Badariya, who handles the HR section of their company.

“Our house looked like a warehouse or workshop for almost a month with so many cartons of screws and boards around. We dedicated our days and nights to this. Children used to help after school and their Quran classes,” she said.

After the National Day exhibition at Sirajudheen’s new venture, Zenith Wheel Alignment, the art installation, is currently on display at the premises of Abu Dhabi Malayali Samajam in Musaffah. The couple said they wished to exhibit the art work at Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba to a larger audience.