IR2022

Faculty: Jay Thakkar

Reimagining the Vernacular

Vernacular in the broader context can be stated as ‘for the people, by the people.’ In this studio, the context of vernacular was life and culture of the terracotta craft communities of Gundiyali village in Kutch. The unit drew references from the research conducted over a period of more than 5 years by the tutor and his research team (DICRC, CEPT) in terracotta crafts of Kutch and especially craft tourism. The intention of this studio unit was to create engaging visual narratives of Gundiyali crafts practices through in-depth interaction with the craft community. These narratives were visualized and communicated through the medium of interdisciplinary design like graphic design, game design, comic book, and storytelling. The studio unit expanded students’ knowledge about the interdisciplinary design and storytelling through exposure to multiple craft practices, site visits to Kutch, analyzing various analogue and digital games, AR/VR workshop, and lectures by the experts. The studio explores various pedagogical methods of understanding and reimagining the craft culture and narratives and experimented with multiple media of representation like storybooks, board games, narrative maps, and graphic novels.