Material Exploration - Soft Materials
This project is based on stories of materials and makers and how craft can be used as a sustainable means to make functional products. Craft is the future livelihood of these makers, supporting these smaller communities and granting them a means of source of income everyday.
Cardboard packaging has positively impacted the market in various ways, nowadays it just goes into recycling and reusing it in multiple ways. I would like to outline the techniques and uses of the corrugated cardboard material which could be done exploring the Basketry weaving method types, which not only can be used as a packaging material but as well as something to store, carry or used on a daily basis. To determine and emphasise on the material and its types such as a single F, E flute for carrying purposes, equal weight distribution in packaging, durability and elasticity in the material. As we know people who collect these scraps are known as ‘KABADIWALA’ they often offer diverse technology-driven sustainable solutions collecting the leftover newspapers, Cardboard waste, metal waste etc thereby reselling them to factories and other big companies. On a daily basis they hardly earn around Rs.13-20 per 112kg or sometimes they exchange the scraps for other goods. To determine and arrive at a solution for these people to make their own earnings by learning a new skill, which will not only support the community but will also revive a craft, thus making craft a solution to employment.
My work in progress begin from my process work seen as there was a lot of experimentation with the material itself. With a number of trial and error and trying out the basketry weaving I finally settled for the plain weave as it could hold the board strips together.
Prototypes based on material exploration
