beyond Objects
PERCEPTIONS & QUESTIONS
"It could be said that the designed object has a visible external form and an invisible semantic content. This semantic content does not normally follow directly from the visual appearance of that object but is an interpretative consequence of it. This means that when we are confronted with any object we visually assess it by accessing its visible form. The visual stimulus that our eyes pick up from the external appearance of this object will then be filtered and interpreted by our knowledge of the world. Effectively, what we do when we filter and interpret the visual stimulus is attribute meaning to it based on our understanding of the world."
- Büchler
‘Beyond Objects’ is an exploration of some critical questions by students, who have just made an entry into the world of art and design. Facilitated by Sudebi Thakurata, Swati Maskeri and Ravindra Gutta, the deep contextual inquiry of select objects and beyond was methodologically through immersion into self and the real-life settings. Students looked at multiple ways of defining an object. What are the dimensions and perceptions of an object beyond the physicality and utilitarian functionality of it? The situationality of objects in a context was at the heart of this course of study There were intentional contrasts in the approach and methodologies used, in the lenses that were given and chosen and even in the ways the experiences were constructed. From the material to the immaterial, from the personal to the political, from an individual to shared to collective, objects were viewed through many lenses, which were contrasting, reciprocal, symbiotic or systemic. The trajectory of this saw many shifts and juxtapositions.
PERCEIVING. QUESTIONING. EVOLVING. SOLVING.
MEDIUMS AND
METHODS
From the concrete to the abstract.
From lifeless to the life.
From object to the subject.
From the subject to the objectification.
From a product to the process.
From tangible to the intangible.
From change to continuity.
From form to functionality.
From perception to representation.
From the parts to the whole.
From information to narratives.
Some objects were used as triggers: umbrella, typewriter, matka, pushcarts, pet bottle, pen, matchbox, bandage, cashbox. Objects became medium, mediators and metaphors. But most importantly, in all the cases the objects were just entry points to delve into a deeper inquiry. Many issues opened up and the forms, structures, materiality, functionality of these objects led to questions that the students explored, the results of which are used as a pop-up exhibition in this gallery. The layers of information gathered, the reflection on the recorded data, the analysis and interpretation of the visualisation of the information and insights led to a deeper inquiry to probe further into tracing the story of the Object, where one question led to another, opening up aspects of relationships, inter-connections, patterns or contradictions. The students' final work include artistic or design-based responses or interventions conceived in exploring these questions.
