India Design Forum (IDF), a platform to explore and educate others about the power of design, will unveil their installation ‘Chakraview’ at the London Design Biennale this year being held at Somerset House, UK from 7 to 27 September.
Chakraview poignantly portrays the multiple utopias that India emulates. Weaving together ancient myth and modern design innovations, it captures a sense of the country’s past and current definitions of design and presents a unique blend that the social, political and religious climate of India has always been characteristic of.
Rajshree Pathy founder of IDF says, “mythological stories are a foundation for utopia because they represent how ancient communities tried to reach a perfect ideal. Like the seven chakras, our visions of utopia are simultaneously spiritual and progressive.”
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A Padmashri awardee, the Coimbatore-born and bred Ms. Pathy says, “We hope the audience will pause for a while in wonderment at the abundance of India, the myriad emotions that are conveyed through this work and then be startled and perhaps leave with a bit of the soul of India in their hearts forever.”
Collaborating with New Delhi-based scenographer Sumant Jayakrishnan, ‘Chakraview’ includes fabrics made by Aadyam, the weaver’s initiative of the Aditya Birla Group. It brings together a multitude of facets that capture India’s design landscape ranging from celebrating the country’s unique cultural heritage, capturing the sustainability of rural crafts and innovation. Circular forms, traditional textiles and ancient mythology are beautifully interwoven to display a sense of modern India in the installation that will be part of the event themed ‘Utopia by Design’ that would feature installations by architects, designers, scientists, writers and artists from over 30 countries exploring their definitions of how ‘The World Reimagines the World’.
The installation also features the work of Avinash Kumar, a design strategist and co-founder of creative consulting firm Quicksand and that of Hanif Kureshi, an artist working with street and typography and Rutva Trivedi, who along with Kureshi runs ‘Guerrilla’, an underground art and design studio in Delhi.
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IDF was created in 2012 and it has had a long-standing partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Government of India.
IDF conferences and Design Weeks, curated by IDF co-founder, Aishwarya Pathy, have played host to large audiences for the last four years in New Delhi and Mumbai. Their most recent event was held during the prestigious “Make in India” week held in Mumbai in February, 2016 where 1600 participants joined IDF in it’s vision to highlight India as being ready for a design led growth economy.