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TRANSIT’S GOTTA BE FUNKY by Aroushka Jinelle D’Mello
Copyright © Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology 2014
This book was designed as a part of the Undergraduate Professional Diploma Program for the academic year 2014-2015 under the project ‘Art in Transit’ at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, 2014 All documented images are owned by the artist. Course Co-Ordinators Arzu Mistry Agnishikha Choudhuri Amitabh Kumar Samir Parker
www.thenammametroproject.tumblr.com
CONTENTS 1. Design Practice and Public Art
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2. Entering an Industrial Society
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3. Initial Ideas (MoirĂŠ Patterns)
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4. Ksana
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5. Evolving the Piece
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DESIGN PRACTICE AND PUBLIC ART
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Hi my name is Aroushka Jinelle D’Mello. I’m an artist and a designer who has explored many different practices which includes mainly - painting, graphic design, illustration, film, animation and curation. During my journey at Srishti, something that intrigued me a lot were the all the ‘Public Art’ interventions I’ve made, both as an individual and as a part of a larger group of artists. I found a sense of responsibility to tell stories of the communities I was working amongst. Public Art projects were intensive and challenging in terms of research, originality of image, style and skill base learning. Over the past three years, I’ve learn to work with images of a varied scale, colour, detailing, narratives and material skills too. ‘Art in Transit’ was the project of my choice this year because I really wanted to push and define my practice. I wanted to take all my learning over the past three years and challenge myself with something I’ve never done before. This book is a documentation of my journey, my research, my learnings, my mistakes, my conversations and a lot of photographs I took along the way. Aroushka. 8
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ENTERING AN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY - INTERPRETATIONS - METAPHORS - MAPS - SKETCHES 10
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Peenya was a very different community to work with. Over the last few months I used a number of tools to access and understand both its culture and its people and how the metro has been a change and an influence. I did a lot of walks to experience and to document for my reference. Peenya is a society that is in a state of constant flux, nothing seems to stay grounded, and there are constant changes as this industrial hub of Bangalore moves towards development. As places get broken down, new industrial estates are being constructed. The metro itself which is the newest addition to facilitate transport is still under construction.
Peenya has a very dull look to it with its cemented grey toned buildings, sites in mid construction and its dust filled environment. The people you see up and about are either out on a lunch or tea break, or are at bus stops, travelling to another destination. As you navigate through the lanes on either side of the highway though the place unfolds itself with stories I never expected. I had to completely put aside my assumptions of a gloomy society as soon as I had made them. My first entry point, my love for food and photography, revealed something entirely different to me. I started visiting all the food places I discovered, and as I indulged in plates of Ambur Biryani in the company of all these local workers, I found a stories rich in pride and care.
A sketch each of the interior and the exterior of the Peenya Metro Station. 12
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I found that a majority of people visit Peenya to work and they leave for their homes that are located at different nooks and corners of the city at the end of the day. The people that come in to work are from different sections of society, they mostly belong to the Indian middle and lower class. I found Peenya very accessible that way, the people humble and welcoming, the food, wholesome and affordable. And though a majority of workers would stay in as they ate from their packed tiffin boxes, a few would step out for either lunch, cut fruits or a cup of chai. I found myself doing a few field visits too, to all the varied factories in the area, here again, not all is what it seems. I walked into a few welding, glass and casting factories. These places appear dark and damp, the only light coming from the fiery sparks as they worked their machines. When I spoke to these workers however, I started to accept a different way of living. They loved what they were doing and took so much pride in explaining their jobs to me. When I told them what I was up to, they lit up in excitement, happy to be a part of stories that would be told about their society. The metro however is still not accessible. A majority of the people are unfamiliar, hesitant and scared about using a facility they haven’t used before. The metro appears to be very grand and out of reach. Peenya was a stretch of unlimited possibilities. A hub of so many different industries powered by its hardworking people. The context for storytelling was limitless. An illustrated and layered map of ‘Food and Food Habits’ in Peenya. - with Akshaya Zachariah The map covers food places on a one kilometer radius around the metro station, timings of meals, vegetarian and non-vegetarian legends and crowd densities throught the day. 14
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A flip book made on the concept of puberty. Relating the stages of facial hair growth of a young boy, to the growth of the metro to a young city, Bangalore. Some stages covered are awkwardness, the wait, status, excitement, option, completion, etc. Illustrations - Aroushka Jinelle D’Mello & Sayori Mukherjee. Packaging & Print - Ruchika Nambiar Text - Ruchika Nambiar, David Mckenzie, Alok Utsav & Anchana Kota Conceptualized by - Ruchika Nambiar, Anchana Kota, Aroushka D’Mello, David Mckenzie, Alok Utsav, Vrinda Gupta & Sayori Mukherjee
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I found myself staring at the mirror, With a tiny glimmer of hope. There wasn’t anything to see yet, Nothing to feel, I remained the same. Everyday I’d observe with envy, The leaps and bounds everyone else was making. And I waited for the day to come. Then one fine day, It arrived and appeared, And was welcomed with such joy. Overflowing with happiness at this glorious beginning, I showed off to the world my new prized possession. But it grew unsteadily, A little clumsily, And soon I didn’t know what to do with it, Gathering attention from all around. With my sudden spurt in growth, I grew impatient with my awkwardness. It grew in patches, Making gawky connections. I didn’t know when it would end. Waiting was all that was left. I know I’ll get there eventually. I know this phase is necessary. And hopefully… It’ll be worth the wait, Or will it? 17
INITIAL IDEAS - MOIRÉ PATTERNS
- SCANIMATIONS - MOIRÉ PATTERNS 18
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My ideas initially revolved around layered images, patterns and illusions. These concepts developed as a result of my work with layered drawings, data collection (About timings, crowds, prices, etc) and mapping. The first thing I thought of creating were animated images with the use of scanimation bars. I then discovered simple patterns that animated themselves with induced movement though the ‘Moiré Effect’. I experimented with various patterned frames, where the images would get created with one frames response to the other, either by way of sliding or rotation.
Above is a pinhole grid. Use the attached screens - The Circle Screen - The Dot Screen - The Triangle Screen Rotate each of this three screens over the grid separetly to observe the moire created. The pinhole allows the pattern to scale up and down again
Scanimation Sample Above is a sample of a scanimation. To view the scanimation of the gears, slide the image of the parallel black lines from left to right over the image.
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My next set of experiments revolved around my use of colour. Moiré Effect and scanimation effects are most responsive with the use of black. I however wanted to incorporate colour into my image for Peenya. I created a simple moiré’ pattern that would complete itself in four layers of images. I even used four simple colours for my experiment, cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
For the moiré effect to trigger itself one of the most important requirements is triggered movement. My initial plan was to use either a pulley mechanism or to induce the movement with motors and sliders. With time I decided upon the site for my piece. I wanted to place it on the concourse level, running parallel to the stairs and escalators that take you to the platform. Right next to the stairs is a hollow sort of opening that is left empty. I decided that this would be a good place for me to create a grid system on the top with a grill, providing support through which I could suspend my piece. My image is inspired by what the viewer wants to see in a space. The idea is to make a person’s transitory movement create or rather trigger an image. With the ‘Moiré Effect’, it is possible to create an image and make it change in relation to the viewer’s position and movement in relation to the image.
Layer 1
My piece will be placed running parallel to the escalator that takes you to the platform, the movement on the escalator will trigger the image.
Layer 2
An example of how the image will change. Layer 3
Final Image
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KSANA
- THE LIGHT BOX - FEEDBACK 24
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Ksana was the first public exhibit for our project. This would be the first time we were presenting our research and our concepts publically. The exhibit was a work-in-progress exhibit, where our models and concepts were still in the early stages of prototyping, open to changes and incorporation of feedback.
Scale – I think my piece was very highly dependent on scale. It lacked impact on the audience because the effect of it was lost. Because of the size of my prototype the moiré effects could not be experienced with ease as well, often I’d have to point them out.
My first prototype was a light box with 3 layers of acrylic sheet that had printed moiré patterns on them. The aim was to give a clear grounding to my concept of using the moiré effect and how I would trigger patterns with human movement. Some of the workings that I was testing out – Pattern Making Depth Lighting Triggers Personal Response – When I presented my light box I was actually very surprised at the fact that people were able to understand my concept and how the piece would look. I think the visualisations came to a great amount of aid to me. The prototype fell short in a lot of ways.
Material Choice – The printed images of the moiré were on acetate paper. This proved problematic for the image because of the glare that was being reflected off of them. At times, part of the image would not be seen because of this problem. Feedback – To work with colour and colour theory, play around with contrast and harmony of colours. The image had to be improved in terms of complexity, the lines had to be stylised. And to also consider material choices.
Ksana, our first exhibit for ‘Art in Transit’ held at the Peenya Metro Station, Bangalore on 27th & 28th September, 2014
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Images of my first prototype, a lightbox, with three layered images that create moiré patterns, lit with LED lights on 3 sides.
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EVOLVING THE PIECE ABOUT THE PIECE CHANGES IN DESIGN VISUALISATIONS SECOND PROTOTYPE 28
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The entire time I was working on the moirĂŠ effect, I felt an immense need to incorporate colour, mainly because Peenya has a very dull look to it. I felt the colour could work very well as a stimulus, to make people experience different things, intrigue, warmth, happiness, wonder and so much more. I began stylizing my lines and they were inspired by mosaics and pixelated images, where when you look very closely, there is no sense to the image, the pieces do not make sense. There exists a mix of so many tints and shades.
The idea of the piece became solely experiential. I didn’t want people to see an exact image, not an image of Peenya, not a drawing or an illustration, not even shapes or forms of abstraction. The viewer would return each time to see and experience something different. The illusions would also work themselves, not because of the use of any mechanism, but because of the point at which it would be viewed from, hence creating a sense of wonder behind the working of the image too.
The first few images I created to redefine the style of my lines. The style is similar to that seen in mosaics and pixelated images. The varying mix of colours would be used to created depth with colour.
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In terms of scale, the piece approximately measure 28ft in height and a width of 50 ft. Each of the lines in the design would be converted to aluminium bars that would be suspended within the empty space. The suspension will allow for a slight bit of movement, bringing life and a slight amount of animation to the piece, very similar to a wind chime. The piece will also convey a sense of mass or fullness. And also a bit of grandness because of its size. The idea is to take that empty space, or the void that existed and create a feel similar to that of what a forest creates. Overwhelming mass, fullness and a sense of life with movement and stillness.
Different angles of the piece.
Some of the 3D rendered visualisations for how the piece would be placed withing the metro.
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Personal Response – Working on a larger scale made a lot of difference. People were able to experience the effect. It also gave me a lot of ideas on how to play with depth and perception. Colour – The colour needs more control to create fluidity and depth with a pattern or a flow to it. It appears random at the moment. Placement – The placement of the bands needs experimentation. Light – Lighting was key to creating importance of either the warm or the cool colours. I feel how I light the piece is extremely imporatant to finish it cleanly.
My second prototype which I put up at our campus. I worked with 3 layers here and a simple grid pattern.
Views of the prototype from different angles. 34
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