Designing a better future
INDIA still retains a culture of not throwing things away but repairing them repeatedly. With Ambassador cars, for example – these are basically the Morris Oxfords from England – they are almost never sent to the scrapyard.
Something of this spirit I found last week at “Transformations”, an exhibition organised by the Society of Designer Craftsmen, at the Bankside Gallery next to Tate Modern. The society, established in 1887 with William Morris as a founder, “continues to promote and support the work of creative thinkers, designers and makers who innovate through the exploration of materials and perfecting of skills in their own fields”.
The idea is to “magically transform a basic material into an object of desire”. Among the 100 designers represented at the exhibition were three of Asian origin – Jennifa Chowdury and Aran Illingworth, who both work with “stitched and constructed textiles”, and Simi Perera, who prefers “paper and artists' books”.
Making things with your hands is good for human beings in every way, the society's chair, Kate Mason, told me. “When originally conceived in 1887, this pioneering group were the change-makers, creative thinkers, and positive activists of their time. They encouraged people to re-examine societal beliefs, economic structures, and civic values with a view to making lives healthier and happier – all things that are still much needed now more than ever.”
No one better represents the ideals of the society than 83-yearold John Makepeace, who is revered as “the father of English furniture”. He was once a design consultant to the All Indian Handicraft Board. His furniture is much sought after by clients, some Indian, in the UK, Dubai and China.
He invited me to sit in one of his oak chairs, where the back is in line with the spine – something essential for journalists who suffer excruciating back pain through spending years slumped over keyboards.
Makepeace, who is based in Beaminster, Dorset, wanted to talk about the management of forests and planting the right of trees. “Trees are a resource, an economic and social benefit,” he said.