Outside/Inside: What constitutes a vessel?
"What do you understand as a 'vessel'? What image comes to mind if I tell you to describe it? Now, how far can you stretch that image? How far is too far?"
‘Outside/Inside’ by Gaurav MK Wali is a collection of objects made from pine needles that are open to interpretation of use.
Inspired by wild grass, Outside/Inside gives the impression that the items held are 'growing', bringing an outside piece of nature, inside. Using the material as is, the natural properties of densely packed pine needles to grip the things put inside are fully utilised.
The design reinterprets the conventional understanding of a 'vessel' from a round/square base with walls to organise objects efficiently, into an entirely new visual, haptic and functional experience.
Breaking away from the clinical nature of modern product design, its form allows the user to come up with their own unique ways of using the object, striking a sense of curiosity and discovery.
"It is a commentary on the direction in which modern product design is going that may be functional, minimal and efficient, but in the process becomes clinical and sterile", explains Gaurav Mohan Krishna Wali. "We want this project to act as a breath of fresh air for the design industry, which is currently filled with the plasticky smell of 3D product renders. We do not want the utopian/perfect reality of the computer-generated world, rather we want to design for the REAL world.
"With Outside/Inside we try to bring value to a product with an under-explored material (pine needles). It is an effort to bring a new perspective on product design that goes beyond normal."
