Introduction to
MATERIAL BODIES: RAW, REMEMBERED, WASTE
Material Library
Teaching and Learning Resource:
Handling Collection
‘Making of’ Material Research and Documentation
R.R.W is a collection of forms, shapes and materials that represent what I believe to be representative of three material bodies: Raw, Remembered and Waste, that aim to generate a thoughtful and propositional material landscape. The collection is an embodiment of the knowledge and understanding that has been bestowed upon me by different people, all of whom I would call craftspeople of disciples. “Craftspeople”, not because what they all do is rooted in the technicalities of traditional practice, but because of the consideration and love that is embedded in their work through the dedication and care that is taken in its making.
This collection, in its present format, is designed to be a handling collection, a teaching and learning resource; but for me, personally, it also embodies another quality. In many ways, for me, this collection is a dedication to these craftspeople, what they have taught me technically, but also how they have contributed to how I think through my practice. I would like to thank Chiaki Maki, who formed not only the foundations for my love and fascination of Japanese traditional fibres, but also inspired me in the manner in which she practised her work. Her thoughtful nature was embedded in the way that she worked, the way she spoke, conducted herself in the Himalayan landscape, and even the way that she ate. Her generosity of mind and soul has stood with me ever since I left Gangamaki, and will remain with me, I should think, for a long time to come. I would like to thank Bijoy Jain, architect, who has bestowed upon me such a richness of thought and theory around the consideration for what I call this material body, or landscape. As well as my parents, both craftspeople, to whom I owe the foundations of my love for making and handwork as well as understanding of stone and colour.
In its current state, it functions as a teaching and learning resource that is designed to be handled, R.R.W. engages with important practices of object-based learning for researchers of the Unforgotten Material programme investigating alternative or marginalised materialities, material histories rooted and forms of making in traditional or sustainable practices. It is an ongoing material investigation which essentially aims to question the ingredients that we focus on as designers and creatives, and encourages others to do the same within their own practice. Stemming from an investigation rooted in traditional knowledge around handwork and the sentiments of craftsmanship, this inquiry dissects hierarchical infrastructures of knowledge of Raw materials as a form of cultural heritage and pursues the potential of these Raw or Waste materials and Remembered practices. In exploring these terrains the collection aims to demonstrate an emotional materiality. In its presentation, it quite literally aims to platform and address attitudes that either sideline or forget these forms of understanding and knowing and place them on the periphery of prioritised knowledge in Western design education.
The ‘Making Of’ section of this collection is the heart of importance. It aims to document every possible dance of hands, and silent music of gesture involved in the processes that took place in the development of the collection. It is my best attempt at communicating the nature of this collection as an organism in constant flux, defining the topography of its materiality in the midst of ongoing movement. The ‘Making Of’ section exists as an open-source platform in order for me to share everything that I have learnt. The knowledge and understanding existing within this space is not mine, but as previously mentioned, was generously bestowed upon me by others, and in many ways, I feel as though I have not only a desire but a responsibility to share what was shared with me. It preserves the interactive elements of the collection, so if there are people, who for whatever reason, cannot engage with these practices but would like to do so in another way, they are to do so either with the publication or online platform, in an immersive and sensorily communicative way.
‘Making Of’ also demonstrates a key element within R.R.W.’s discussion of materiality - the displacement of the body as a tool in itself, referred to in U.M.’s introduction as the human ingredient. The Raw and Waste bodies of R.R.W. refer more to physical materiality, whereas the Remembered section not only refers to traditional handwork such as fibre-to-yarn developments, dying practices, stone carving, or colour grinding but also to what was referred to as the “workmanship of risk” in U.M.’s introduction, that represents the sentiment of craftsmanship. The ‘Making Of’ section aims to demonstrate not only a methodology of working, and the material discoveries revealed in the making of the material library, but also functions as a record of my personal experience and psychological interaction with these processes, as it documents as much thought and feeling I went through as I thought relevant.
The fundamental aim of ‘Making Of’ and the Raw, Remembered, Waste material bodies, is to develop a space that facilitates shared thought, knowledge and questioning, making all three of these sections - Unforgotten Material, Material Bodies: Raw, Remembered, Waste and ‘Making Of’, inextricably interconnected. Throughout history, handwork has most often been taught and shared through word of mouth, gestural communication, and proactive, physical engagement, so please keep this in mind when interacting with the collection.