March POOL 2013

Page 40

cover story

my need of creating a surprise keeping in mind sensory comforts (touch, feel, visual, and mental). Proportions may change depending on who is the prime beneficiary. It’s like sometimes a businessman wants a product designed which can be produced by anyone who offers the lowest rate. If the idea is for craftspeople then they are the ones who should benefit first. I have always drawn greater satisfaction from the projects where I have created work as a response to specific needs instead of following trends! Which is one of your most notable projects? CB: When I was asked to create a series of cloth murals for the business hall of Suzlon’s One Earth Campus in Pune, I had a choice of print, weave or appliqué, but I looked at it as an opportunity to create multi-craft technique pieces. The brief was to focus on the ‘learning icon’ of the Suzlon Excellence Academy and depict the knowledge gaining process in abstraction. I played around with the base element - a triangle - and created a fluid grid while playing with an array of colors mingling and influencing each other, creating continuous change. Each of the five murals had colors inspired from wind, fire, earth, water and space. I deliberately avoided the use of recognizable forms or motifs to keep the sanctity of the learning icon intact. Visualization was done on computers in 1:1 size. I knew production of such large one-off textiles was not possible if I wasn’t involved on a day to day basis with the artisans. My wife Shobhana, who is a trained apparel designer, took the responsibility to guide and supervise closely the women doing the embroidery and appliqué to ensure it all came right in the first place. It involved 32  POOL #33


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