tanay kandpal exhibits ‘of returning’ at milan design week

 

Developed for the Salone Del Mobile during Milan Design Week 2024, Of Returning is a design exploration which unpacks the shared history between Ettore Sottsass and South India during the formative years of the Memphis Movement. Addressing the overlooked influence of South Asian heritage on postmodern design, the project by Tanay Kandpal focuses on the aesthetic impact of Channapatna craftsmanship on Sottsass’ early work. With an aim to reclaim South Asian narratives within contemporary design discourse, the inquiry materializes in a publication and the Atike (Ah-tee-kay) collection of luminaires. Handcrafted in India, lacquered wooden pegs twirl and stack into an accent table lamp which pivots at its center to fit any surface.

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all images by Anwyn Howarth

 

 

atike lamps handcrafted from ivory wood in india

 

Atike, Kannada for toy, is an accent lamp expressing the metaphor of shedding light while embodying the playful sensibilities of the toy-making craft of Channapatna. Discretely illuminating with a soft glow, its artisanal qualities are equally appealing both when in use and switched off. Crafted in Channapatna, local soft Ivory wood is turned and finished by hand, while the bright colours are lacquered from forest resins and vegetable dyes.

 

During the 1981 Salone Del Mobile, a group of radical creatives identifying as ‘Memphis’ brought their visual fireworks to the world through colour, form and pattern. This aesthetic was a collective transmutation of an obsession with not only pop art and the Austrian Jungendstil Movement but also the sights and sounds of South India. This influence is discernible in South India, with its vividly colored homes embracing asymmetrical shapes – a locale frequented by Ettore Sottsass, the founder of the Memphis movement.

 

One does not need to look further than his early ceramics, particularly the Indian Memory Series and the Tantra and Yantra series from the late 1960s and early 1970s which trace back to his initial exploration of India in the autumn of 1961. Following which, his subsequent annual visits to the region were succeeded by outpourings of creative work. This fascination with India was not unique; pioneers like the Eames and Le Corbusier also spent considerable time in the subcontinent. ‘Why does then impact of this South Asian aesthetic get left out of contemporary design conversations when it has greatly contributed to the quality of life experienced by the west?’ questions designer Tanay Kanakpal.

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Atike lamps embody a toy-like quality

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designed by Tanay Kandpal

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addressing the overlooked influence of South Asian heritage on postmodern design

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handcrafted in Channapatna, India

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lacquered wooden pegs twirl and stack into an accent table lamp

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Atike discretely illuminates with a soft glow

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exhibited at Isola Design Festival during Salone Del Mobile

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part of the Of Returning exhibition

 

 

project info:

 

name: Of Returning
designer: Tanay Kandpal

production: Fairkraft Channapatna

supported by: Stimurelings Funds NL

program: Salone Del Mobile, Milan Design Week 2024

 

 

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: ravail khan | designboom