Its an interesting task which involves wandering around all kinds of second hand markets, scrap yards and street corners looking to pick up any exciting objects I may use to build my products.
In a country like India waste management happens at every level of industry and society. The retail and export markets consume the best and newest of objects. The rejects and faulty ones find their way into the massive export reject markets which cater to an immense domestic audience at radically reduced prices. Then there is the second hand market - from old car parts - to buttons and zippers and labels of clothes - everything finds its way back into the economic system. Its incredible actually the efficiency with which material waste is largely handled.
So then what finds its way into the waste heap? As far as textiles are concerned only tailoring scrap and old wasted yarn which cannot be used for weaving anymore. And that is all my collaborators are giving me. Will I be able to find a way for using these materials that our very ingenious waste management system has not cracked. That is the challenge of this project. Finding and creating value from scratch!
