the botanicals hand carvings and other poetic things by mayank bisht from india

Conceptualized, during my love at first sight with the charming old New Great Eastern Mill in Byculla, Mumbai, this project has really come to mean the world to the craftsmen and me. The mill houses the quaint and pretty “The Great Eastern Home,” a fine furniture shop which also boasts woodworkers from oldest surviving guilds trained for generations under the British Cabinet Makers in Calcutta, by legendary companies such as H. Lazarus and Co.
During my time of interaction with the store I realized the capabilities and the skill level of the wood carvers. Day to day carving work included rich classical carvings and it was done impeccably. To challenge and take it to another level (my deeply felt desire) was a daunting task in itself. Molded in contemporary forms and set with the classical carvings of a changed nature I wanted to create pieces that spoke for themselves in terms of skill and sales. We (me and the workers) experimented with different techniques of woodcarving inventing, failing and finally deciding on a kind of carving we developed that I wanted to use.
These would be extremely fragile looking, detailed; three-dimensional carvings with won’t be stuck on the pieces or joined later. Like the general technique of carvings it’ll be the part of the furniture member scooped out from solid blocks of wood, but here the catch was the carvings itself. Termed as “The Botanicals” the collection is very young and still in a prototype stage but it boasts of two exquisite pieces. A dining table and a double sided-console.
Made from reclaimed teakwood and using many small wood pieces instead of solid chunks (where I could) and concealing those undesired joints with a dark color or grooving texture, the collection is (in spite of being rich and luxury defining) responsible.
Almost 10-12 wood carvers have patiently worked on these tables for a period of three to four months, slowly scooping out the magic in the wood. The carving trapped inside wood members in the pictures is not put later into the structure but actually is one solid piece, end to end, inclusive of the structure and the carving.
The issues of breakage and cleaning are dealt by sandwiching the carving between layers of anti-glare glass – The top in case of the dining table and the top with the panels on legs in case of the console.
It’s clearly not a one-man show. Many I hold responsible for the final pieces. Some doodles and the idea-initiation from my side, the exquisite work and time I took from the workers, and Dr. Anurag Kanoria, the proud owner and the mentor during my time in the store.