The sofa series Tata is the outcome of a self-initiated research project, with generous funding bySida and Konstnärsnämnden. During a period of three years I visited the city of Bandung on Java in Indonesia twice, starting several collaborations with local crafts people.
My experience in Dubai, where I begun viewing design through an anthropological lens, influenced how I approached the Tata Sofa Series. This new research project allowed me to study further the connection between form, function, and culture. I collected everyday objects such as brooms, shovels and baskets to understand material and its correlation to form. The outcome and a selection of the found objects were exhibited at Gallery Korn in Stockholm under the title ‘The Evolution of the Object’.
Through this process I discovered the material rattan. Coming from a strongly functionalistinfluenced background through my Swedish design education I realized the potential of the material. The material’s flexibility, and the ability to manipulate it by hand, water, and heat, allowed for more dynamic and organic forms. Compared to wood where a design with curves is both labour intense and costly, I was intrigued creating a design which used both concave and convex curves.
The Tata Look Book merges my roles, both as designer and photographer, accompanied by anconversation with Swedish journalist Susanne Helgesson about the project.
