Trashures: This book works on multiple levels!

By Arzan Khambatta

Photography: Courtesy BIS Publishers

Read Time: 2 mins

 

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“Trashures is a book I completely relate to, as every idea, concept and thought is in synch with my creative journey,” opines India’s answer to reinventing scrap, architect and sculptor, Arzan Khambatta!

This book works on multiple levels.

Firstly, it’s a step-by-step guide to create your own art works, shown in such a no-nonsense simplified style that it will make anyone grab the materials mentioned and jump into this melting pot of creation.

 

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To create something with your own hands is so tremendously self-satisfying and therapeutic; which the readers will experience once they bend their first bit of wire, or punch holes into a Styrofoam glass.

 

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According to me, the most important part of this process is that your completed artwork is not the end point, but a start to what will be a phenomenally satiating creative journey for you. You will start to think… “If I can do this, what if I bend it the other way, what if I add more twigs, and a bucket handle or an electric bulb to it, what if I dip it in paint, and so on and so forth…”

 

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Secondly, you get to understand the thought process of the various artists featured within. How beautifully simple and child-like it is; how they ideate, visualize and finally create their masterpieces. They teach us never to be afraid to try out something that crosses our mind, however stupid it might seem at that time.

 

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One also sees the diversity of the arts, from Richard and Judith’s beach-combed colourful installations to Marc Sparfel’s quirky sculptures from abandoned wood furniture. On one hand, you get to see the playful and chirpy birds by Tineke, and on the other, the serious wire-frame works of Mari Andrews.

 

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Whose work do you most relate to, and what would you want to undertake as your first project? You’ll find out yourself, as you start your discovery of this wonderful compilation.

Lastly, this book helps you keep your eyes open, see beauty in otherwise mundane surroundings, find forms in everyday items you use and look at thrash in a fresh perspective.

 

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Most importantly, this book helps you open your mind and transcends you to a new and undiscovered dimension.

Publisher: BIS Publishers

Author: Designer Anja Brunt & Illustrator Tineke Meirink
Format: Paperback with flaps
Dimensions: 28 x 21 cm
Pages: 80

The reviewer, Arzan Khambatta is an architect by profession and a sculptor by choice with a keen eye for the third dimension! He excelled at working his magic with scrap metal, turning it into piece de resistance artifacts. While he no longer works with scrap, his name is synonymous with a term he lovingly coined in his early days, “scraptures”. He can be contacted at arzanstudio@gmail.com