This is India at LDF
In September we were one of 12 India-centric designers to showcase as part of This is India at The London Design Fair. Spanning product, textile and furniture design, This is India aimed to offer a renewed perspective on design practices in India today. Curated by Spandana Gopal of Tiipoi, the exhibition was designed by Kangan Arora and supported by Indelust. Take a look at the exhibition in picture
Each designer was commissioned to produce an installation for the show, in addition to a display of their products. We created an oversized scroll which hung from the ceiling and showed the process of hand screenprinting the Coconut Palm Pickers print. Starting with one colour at the bottom, more details slowly built up, one colour at a time to create the full illustration at the top of the fabric. To the left of our scroll was Leah Singh‘s installation of 50 miniature embroidered cushions. Leah specialises in traditional Indian craft techniques with unexpected colour combinations, and modern, geometric forms. In front is an oversized cushion by Chinar Farooqui of Injiri, who uses traditional hand weaving techniques to create textiles with subtle colours and interesting details.
Claymen by Aman Khanna caught the attention of a lot of visitors. A graphic artist, illustrator, sculptor and visual storyteller, Aman creates functional sculptures, inspired by the simplicity of his surroundings and the common man.
Taama specialises in metal, woodwork and hand made leather goods, designed an manufactured in house by over 200 specialist craftsmen. Their installation, Hexa Comb, was a honeycomb pattern of hexagon shaped objects fabricated from different materials.
Stacked terracotta pots, painted in a range of colours and topped with a simple plywood top made very effective plinths for product displays. Conceptualised by exhibition designer Kangan Arora, they draw inspiration from the repetitive stacks of utilitarian goods you see stacked all over India.
Leah Singh’s embroidered cushion sits next to marble and stone plates, platters and bowls, by Somya Singh and Bob de Graaf of To & From. Made in collaboration with talented craftsmen in Jaipur, To & From showcased their first collection at The London Design Fair. Inspired by handmade craft techniques and the culture of sharing food, their vessels are generous in their proportions to encourage sharing.
Taxi Fabric‘s colourful installation of decorated taxi doors showcases artists, designers and illustrators that they have collaborated with, alongside their new range of cushions. The wooden sculpture is by The Shed, a research and design studio founded by Priyanka Shah that specialises in making furniture, home accessories, kitchenware and cultural objects.
All images by exhibition designer Kangan Arora.