SEA Conversations | Winter 2023-24
Technological Practices as Riyaz
Dipti Bhaindarkar
This winter cycle of SEA Conversations was curated around the thematics of Riyaz and Practice. With the conceptual lens of Riyaz, we invited deeper contemplations from individuals, who engage with technology as a rhythmic, disciplined, and long-term commitment. These six conversations discussed the intricate relationships between practitioners, the technological matter, and the world within which their practices are situated.
This winter cycle SEA Conversations explored technological practice or techne as riyaz by asking the following questions,
In riyaz, how does one engage with matter (molding, sculpting, weaving, screwing, ramming, kneading), which is not just material but also emotions, experiences, memories, histories, dreams and desires?
What kinds of rhythms are devised between the practitioner, the matter, and the world in this practice of engagement?
What kinds of routines, repetitions, and intensities constitute these rhythms?
How does the material and the immaterial, shape the process and the rhythms?
What kinds of asymmetries, imperfections, and unexpectedness emerge in this process? And what role do they play?
How does the larger world, including the fields of art and architectural practices, within which the practice is located shape the riyaz?
And lastly, how does the conceptual lens of techne as riyaz allow us to rethink the given notions of technology in the field of architectural practice and pedagogy?
Six different practitioners were invited to talk about different dimensions of practice and riyaz through their work. In the first talk for this cycle, Neha Kudchadkar articulated Riyaz as a deep, rhythmic engagement with the self and the material, embodying routine, experiences and emotions. She emphasizes how Riyaz in her work evolves into a transformative process of self-discovery and advancing her work. Through this continuous autobiographical practice, she explores and reflects on the interplay between her body and the medium, be it in dance or ceramics.
Second Conversation with Sankalpa, opened up Riyaz through a very different lens of repetition of a material and experimentation. He looks at it as a tool and discusses the learnings which the practitioner gathers along the way as he/she repeatedly works with the materials as a tool. Whereas, Afra Eisma narrated the meticulous processes of weaving, casting, drawing and reading as methods which aid her practice of making soft forms. For her, the matter is not limited to material but also emotions, experiences, memories, dreams and desires that are molded and weaved into the technological matter. Sagarika Suri discussed the dichotomy of two scales, one that is of the built environment , an architectural practice and the other which is at the scale of an object. She spoke about the engagement of the body with the work, at a larger architectural scale, which allowed for a prolonged experience, however as a designer the experimentation often is limited to paper space, whereas, at the scale of the object/ product, a close experimentation is possible to test ideas/ and concepts. Asim Waqif narrated his process of challenging the myopia of the fabrication industry, where the creative aspects of fabrication are confined to the designer, while the workers are expected to only follow instructions. His work is built through intuitive thinking of the craftsmens working closely with the material and him working with the space and experiences. Priyanka Narula narrated her stories with cane weaving and product design. She frames her work based on the context it is situated in.
The following talks were conducted in this series:
Talk 1/ Kudchadkar, Neha. “A Matter of Practice / A Practice of Thinking (through) Matter” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. January 05, 2024.
Talk 2/ Sankalpa, Sankalpa. “A Pedagogy of the Everyday” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. January 19, 2024.
Talk 3/ Eisma, Afra. ” Splashdown Tender; Our Imagination as a Political Space.” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. February 02, 2024.
Talk 4/ Suri, Sagarika. “ Finding Time in Practice.” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. February 23, 2024.
Talk 5/ Waqif, Asim. “ Decentralizing the Creative Process.” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. March 08, 2024.
Talk 6/ Narula, Priyanka. “Woven Morphologies” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. March 22, 2024.
Talk 1/ Kudchadkar, Neha. “A Matter of Practice / A Practice of Thinking (through) Matter” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. January 05, 2024.
Talk 2/ Sankalpa, Sankalpa. “A Pedagogy of the Everyday” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. January 19, 2024.
Talk 3/ Eisma, Afra. ” Splashdown Tender; Our Imagination as a Political Space.” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. February 02, 2024.
Talk 4/ Suri, Sagarika. “ Finding Time in Practice.” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. February 23, 2024.
Talk 5/ Waqif, Asim. “ Decentralizing the Creative Process.” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. March 08, 2024.
Talk 6/ Narula, Priyanka. “Woven Morphologies” Technological Practice as Riyaz, School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai, India. March 22, 2024.