Overview

C&L Design is delighted to announce the opening of an exhibition by Material Immaterial Studio at 47-A. The studio is well known for its use of cast concrete to create collectible design objects, both functional and decorative. Working with the simplicity of concrete, the play of light and shadow becomes particularly pronounced in their practice. References used by the studio are often architectural in nature, taking from the aesthetics of ‘Tropical Brutalism’, a mid-20th century modernist movement employed in projects throughout the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

The exhibition presents two series:

‘Re-Cast’ comprises individual blocks of concrete, cast to resemble architectural fragments and placed individually or in groups. Conceptually, the series deals with our memories of built spaces and the often fragmentary nature of those recollections. When assembled together the blocks form diverse arrays of forms, sometimes with a clear function –  tables, seats – and sometimes presented purely as sculpture. Here, the relationship of the part to the whole encourages creative exploration and customisation. 

‘Sanctum’ is a series of meticulously crafted table-top sculptures depicting iconic step wells located in India. Material Immaterial Studio bring their recognisable use of cast cement and obsessive eye for detail to these under-researched architectural marvels. The history of stepwells speaks to the subcontinent’s very particular relationship to water, where, over large areas, periods of intense rainfall are separated by aridity giving rise to the need for systems both for rain harvesting as well as tapping underground water reserves. Over time, stepwells became increasingly complex architectural accomplishments, imbued with significant symbolic, religious, and political meaning.

A Video Walkthrough by Mort Chatterjee

A Conversation Between Nitin Barchha of Material Immaterial Studio and Mortimer Chatterjee