Obama inspires pin art

Friday November 21, 2008
The Star

Obama inspires pin art

By LISA GOH

PETALING JAYA: Barack Obama’s victory in the US presidential race has inspired pin-artist Nason Ponniah to produce one of his best works so far.
Ponniah has completed a pin portrait of the president-elect and the 76cm by 101cm effort could end up in the White House.
About 35,000 nickle-plated pins were used and the 54-year-old artist took two weeks to complete the job.
“I felt inspired by Obama because of his promise to bring change.
“I hope people around the world, including in Malaysia, are ready for change,” he said.
Ponniah, who works as a real-estate agent, started his pin art hobby in 1984 and perfected the technique in 2001.
He has completed countless pin portraits to-date.
“I found it best to work in black and white.
“I always start with the eyes, then nose and mouth. Everything else you can play a bit with, but if you get the features, especially the eyes, wrong, it’s not him or her anymore,” he explained.
Ironically, for a person who deals with pins almost daily, Ponniah suffers from trypanophobia – a fear of injections.
“I have pricked my own fingers many times, but try bringing me to a doctor for a blood test, no way!” he said.
On the Obama portrait, Ponniah said the plan was to courier it to Washington before the president-elect is sworn in on Jan 20.
“I guess it’s my chance to tell Obama, don’t forget Malaysia,” he quipped.