Shivangi Gupta
About
Shivangi Gupta b.1996 is an interdisciplinary designer, maker and curator. Currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Design Products at the Royal College of Art (RCA), London; she received a BFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence in 2018.
Gupta has most recently worked as a Curator at Nature Morte, a contemporary art gallery based in New Delhi.
Growing up in Moradabad, commonly known as the ‘pital nagri’ literally meaning abode of brass. She has fond memories of visiting factories/Karkhanas, looking at different vernacular crafts such as sand casting, metal etching, and aluminium weaving and seeing industrial machines and techniques in effect side by side. This has left her with a keen interest in the processes with which objects are made and the wider systems within which they sit. Within a trend-based industry and design-first mentality, what happens to vernacular craft? How do we balance the space between sustainability, technology and craft? Through her work, she wants to explore “The New Handmade”.
Statement
My work attempts to materialise a concept of practice or the idea of working that places collaboration with artisans and craftspersons at its heart. It builds on the idea of lore and craft having been fascinated with craft as a landscape - of habitation, livelihood, and politics. It is at once an investigation into the chain of communication and execution between a designer and a maker, the socio-political landscape of such an exchange as well as an ethnographical study into the self as an embodiment of culture and as a repository of embodied knowledge passed down through generations.
‘Language of Tools’ and ‘Second Nature’ both delve deeply into the craft of weaving together baskets. Making a basket is a way to understand important cultural teachings. As an object, it is immediate and versatile in material, form, and function. It becomes an interesting reflection on the cultural, environmental, economic, and social environment that these objects have been created within. For example, the paper mache baskets from India give a glimpse into its history as a migratory art form that travelled from Persia to Kashmir and then to the rest of India through its patrons and the composition of these baskets gives one an insight into the composition of local plantlife whereas the function and decorations give away the social ecosystems it exists within. Contrasting this with the importance of plaited baskets in the history of the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala can be traced to the abundance of palms in their respective ecosystems. Basketry is one of the first expressions of human culture, humans have been weaving pliable materials into three-dimensional shapes for nearly 10,000 years and as such it became a simple, direct everyday object with immediate recall to work with.
Image on the left: Screenshot of a basket for sale from the WBC website
The Language of Tools
The Language of Tools
2022-23
In ‘Language of Tools’, the primary area of investigation was the advent of mass manufacturing of ‘crafted’ objects, especially seen through my lens growing up in Moradabad, how it has affected the fabric of the city. Specifically, I was interested in the way that the local makers and processes of making have adapted to the tools and the speed that these new tools offer and what they are doing with them. To this effect I set out to recreate a mass-produced basket I spotted here in London that was made in India and reminded me of the handmade baskets woven by artisans back home using different materials and production methods available to me here in London and RCA.
From left to right
Plastic Basket, 2022, PETG Plastic - Vaccum Forming
Silicone Basket, 2022, Brown Silicone Sealent, Corn Starch - Press Moulding
Clay Basket, 2022, Earthenware Clay - Press Moulding
Digital Basket, 2022, .obj - 3D Scanning
Powder Printed Basket, 2022, Polyamide. PA12. PA11 - 3D Printing
Paper Basket, 2022, Digital Print on 300gsm paper - 3D Modeling, Laser Printing, Laser cutting, Paper Craft
Mild Steel Basket, 2023, 1mm Mild Steel - 3D Modelling, Metal Fiber Laser Cutting, Sand Blasting, TIG Welding
MDF Basket, 2023, 6mm MDF, Metalware - 3D Modelling, Laser Cutting
Wood Basket, 2023, Lime Wood - CNC Fabrication using a Robotic Kuka Arm
Ceramic Basket, 2023, Stoneware - 3D Modelling, 3D Printing, Linear Mould Making, Slip Casting
Second Nature: Vessels of Habitation, Livelihood and Politics
Second Nature: Vessels of Habitation, Livelihood and Politics
2023
Throughout ‘Second Nature: Vessels of habitation, livelihood, and politics’, I worked with 8 craftsmen from Moradabad who work with different materials and processes ranging from traditional to contemporary. The process I set out to implement unfolded in 3-4 stages where the first and second stages were instigations without any design contribution from my end wherein the craftsperson brings to the table his understanding of the word ‘basket’ along with the material, form, and production method he chose to employ giving me an insight into what he (and his family/community) generally use baskets for and the environment he is surrounded by which influenced his decisions. The next step is where I step into the process and through dialogue and suggestions resulting in another basket that builds on the first two. For the last stage, I brought together two teams of craftsmen working with two different materials (and as a result different forms and processes) and together with them worked on creating a basket that borrows from both these sets of know-how and expertise resulting in an other basket that was born from this collaborative effort.
The aspiration is be “…a sober investigation into those values and qualities that Indians hold important to a good life” as the Eames once recommended the Indian Government to do and to find ways to engage with other cultural and geographical contexts while keeping those values and qualities intact in short our attitude is to be the “lota” of today’s world.
Baskets are one of the most important objects that also function as embodiments of culture.
I . Glass Baskets
titled from left to right
Nirmal Kumar, 1.1 – 1.7, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Glass
Nirmal Kumar & Riyasat Husain, 1.8 – 1.12/ 3.6 – 3.10, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Glass and Metal Wire
2 . Sheet Metal Baskets
titled from left to right
Md. Usman, 2.1 – 2.3, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Galvanised Steel Sheet
Md. Usman, 2.4 – 2.5, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Mild Steel Laser Cutting Scraps
Md. Usman & Md. Faheem, 2.6 – 2.7/ 8.5 – 8.6 2023, Dimensions Variable, Steel Sheet and Mango Wood
3 . Metal Wire Baskets
titled from left to right
Riyasat Husain, 3.1 – 3.5, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Aluminium Wire
Nirmal Kumar & Riyasat Husain, 1.8 – 1.12/ 3.6 – 3.10, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Glass and Metal Wire
4 . Casted Metal Baskets
titled from left to right
Md. Ali, Asad Ali & Md. Yaseen, 4.1 – 4.6, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Casted Aluminium
Md. Ali, Asad Ali & Md. Yaseen, 4.7, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Casted Brass
Md. Ali, Asad Ali, Md. Yaseen & Md. Mobin, 4.8, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Casted Aluminium
Md. Ali, Asad Ali, Md. Yaseen & Md. Islam, 4.9 – 4.10/ 7.4 – 7.5, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Casted Aluminium
5 . Lacquered Baskets
titled from left to right
Md. Imtiyaz, 5.1 – 5.5, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Scrap Metal and Lacquer
Md. Imtiyaz & Vinod Kumar, 5.6/ 6.4, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Spun Aluminium and Spray Lacquer
6 . Spun Metal Baskets
titled from left to right
Vinod Kumar, 6.1 – 6.2, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Spun Aluminum
Vinod Kumar & Riyasat Husain, 6.3, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Spun Aluminum and Wire
Md. Imtiyaz & Vinod Kumar, 5.6/ 6.4, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Spun Aluminium and Spray Lacquer
7 . Carved Baskets
titled from left to right
Md. Islam, 7.1 – 7.3, 2023, Carved Mango Wood and Finish
Md. Ali, Asad Ali, Md. Yaseen & Md. Islam, 4.9 – 4.10/ 7.4 – 7.5, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Casted Aluminium
8 . Wooden Baskets
titled from left to right
Md. Faheem, 8.1 – 8.4, 2023, Mango Wood and Finish
Md. Usman & Md. Faheem, 8.5 – 8.6, 2023, Dimensions Variable, Steel Sheet and Mango Wood