Objects In The Mirror...
Threads From Kutch
Illustrated Storybook
It is an illustrated storybook. The story is about urbanization and is set around the example of a wood block carver from Pethapur in Gujarat. A deep study of block makers was done before starting this project. In book the illustrations are made in wood cut printing method and text part of this book is done by serigraphy method (screen printing). This relief printing(woodcut printing) technique is meant to provide the illustrations with a hand crafted look and feel in keeping with the subject matter. The serigraphy(screen printing) is meant to show the effect of industries on traditionally craftsmen’s life.
This project is about the urbanization and its effects on the country and its people - the chicken and egg story of people moving to the cities in search of a better lifestyle and draining the infrastructure and resources of the cities in turn ruining the original Indian village culture and the resultant decline of traditional arts and culture.
Field Trips & Study
Started this project with a multiple visits to the place of block makers at Pethapur in Gujarat. Over there I came to know about the craft, craftsmen through interaction and interviewing of craftsmen. I came to know about the process of wood block making and printing, tools used by them for block making. I met Dayabhai Prajapati, a settled and known practising craftsmen. He introduced me to other craftsmen, where I met Khadaji Somaji Thakur, an old man of around 83 years old still practicing this craft. By talking to all of them I came to know about the craft and its history, process of making wood blocks about the craftsmen.
Around 200 years ago it was a block making hub where 350 to 400 master artisans transformed teak wood into exquisite masterpieces.
An entire community of masons and carpenters switched to wood carving to meet the growing demands for the blocks required for Saudagiri fabrics which work prolific at the time in the province of Siam (Thailand).
With the arrival of Second World War the trade took a huge hit as Japan sealed off the land route and trade by sea became dangerous. With the end of Saudagiri trade the craft of Pethapur suffered severely. The advent of new alternative printing techniques like screen printing have eradicated the demand for wood block print further.
Design Approaches
As a designer I look to solve a problem that I see. As a visual designer I saw the gap between the crafts and the masses that are unaware of this rich heritage. I decided to bridge this gap between the problem through visual media and explored various options I had to do this
Video Documentation
Video documentation on craft. But that would have been simply documenting something. I was not exploring or learning anything. Another reason for not pursuing this option further was that videos of this nature have been done before. Therefore there was nothing new that I could offer and my project would have then been more focused on the originality I could bring to the documentation method than about the issues of urbanization.
I realized that there was nothing for me to do that would address the issues facing the craftsmen in a new way. It would therefore once again be more focused on the originality of the design of the product. I would loose out on the focal point of the project which I was not prepared to do.
Experience Kit / DIY Kit
craft experience kit through which a person can experience wood block making and printing. This kit would contain a detailed history and instructions to the process of wood block making, a few colours, pieces of cloth, a few wooden blocks, some tools and motifs. By this user can experience printing from wooden blocks and can also carve a block of their own design or from motifs given with kit. But by designing this kit my role would be passing of something form one place to another.
Final Approach - Illustrated Story Book
Till that time I was focusing on the craft, not on the issue which causes the extinction of the craft. The issue of urbanization is the main reason behind extinction of the craft of wood block making. I finally decided to make an illustrated story book using woodcut prints. So I plotted two narratives based on the subject of urbanization and the craft.
Process
In total i have created 3 narratives, I realized that what I needed was a narrative within which I would use the story of a craftsman of Pethapur, who migrates to Mumbai in search of a better life for himself and his family. Through his experiences I have highlighted the pros and cones of the city life and why people choose to stay in the cities in spite of poor living condition. I have also used the additional research that I did regarding urbanization and the insights I got from the people I met in Mumbai who have migrated from the villages to provide the context necessary to give this story a particular meaning and direction and also to invoke a certain response in the reader.
Storybording
Final Design
I used honey bee as a metaphor in this book for the people who are forced by circumstances to abandon their traditional livelihood and spaces and migrate. The honey bee can be looked at as a craftsman by itself. And although the text tells a story of an actual craftsman of Pethapur, the images show a honeybee who leaves its honeycomb and ventures into the city. Rice paper was chosen for printing the woodcut illustrations because of its special colour and texture. The final book with 20 pages is created as a limited edition print (7 edition).
