breaking the bubble

India is diverse, multilayered, and rich in traditions with a past still passing by. Today India is able to maintain a ritualistic link with the heritage of the skilled craftsmanship, the remarkable presence of the past and the modern building process used; a high-quality building stone and other traditional materials. Reflecting both the “old” and the “new”; and extending out into Bollywood, one of the most known areas to have adapted this.

The contemporary Indian design of today would not have to be able to exist without the traditional one; as it is distinguished from the autonomous traditions of its ancient past and also what came from outside with people through the silk route and innvasions.

This volume at hand, then opens up a new dialogue between tradition and innovation, between craftsmanship and design and bringing both together to form what is now the contemporary design of India. Paying close attention to climate, flora, light, space, and material, to create a crafted space that adds richer texture and allows it to adapt a deeper meaning into the space; focusing on the essential, minimalist by heart and mood by its soul, being more than an aesthetic tool, instead of meaningful.

Contemporary Indian design is then born out of the cultural influences of its time and place to become the reference of its own culture. As a result, creating a crafted environment that speaks of a journey in time and space.

Craft is what it is and after all these years at IICD, I have know and studied all kinds of craft in all its length and breadth. Every now and then pioneers in the field comes up with the banal and unoriginal dialgoue of how we need to save craft.

We as young graduates need to break that bubble of using those years old traditions and techniques, with new era comes new challenges so does the act to adapt to that change.

As a designer, it becomes necessary to question the exisiting patterns and laws of those age old stories and rituals so that we can go ahead with new stories to tell to our audience/consumers.

With ever changing scenario of technology in 21st century, where exactly does the handicrafts exist ?! What should be the new dialogues in crafts ? With ~7.9 people on this planet which means ~14.8 hands, not all of us can have a desk white-collar jobs. And with these face-paced world, what craft do people choose ? What are the new practices people practices since the beginning of new century ? What should be the new era for handicrafts when craft is nothing but glorified slave labour ?!

CRAFT-ACTIVISM

Provocative Futures

Contemporary Craft Cultures