Plastic: Villain or Hero. Getting to know Ground Magma Team!
Project: Bubble
Ground Magma: Akash Badal, Aniruddh Verma and Shristi Sharma
Andrea: Which was your motivation for the concept of your project?
Ground Magma: The project emerged from the anxieties of staying locked inside our houses. We as designers tend to be hyper-productive and feel anxious when we fail to be so. This trait allows us to work with inhumane capabilities but it also restricts us to take a pause and see the bigger picture. The current pandemic crisis has made designers the so-called ‘problem solvers’ feel helpless. It is this feeling of helplessness which made us choose to work on the Delao speculative challenge. It helped us in taking a step back and looking at the current situation from a different perspective.Working on the challenge with the scenario where plastic does not exist allowed us to reimagine the past and the present differently. The project looks at ways through which individuals can protect themselves from the virus by creating minimal disruption in the existing system.
Andrea: Why did you decide to have this approach?
Ground Magma: Our design approach comes from the values taught in our Design Institute, a lot of our classroom projects tackle immediate issues across the country, having indulged in many such problem-solving projects have led us to have an understanding of a problem-solving approach simultaneously having a vision for a long term effect. This allows us to think of alternative possibilities for a given brief which might not always be tangible but can also be speculative, provocative and critical. We have developed a design process which allows us to think of alternatives for any challenge. We believe that in any project the process and the outcome will be defined by the nature of the project, the times and the resources, but the underlying system remains the same.
Andrea: Which were your main inspirations?
Ground Magma: Nature takes care of its ecosystem and all the elements are in harmony and equilibrium with respect to one another. In times of crisis one also has a notion that this is nature’s call and it’s a form of cleansing from the catastrophes we as humans have embarked upon the planet, so it also became an opportunity to retrospect and understand that we may be the smartest species but we are still vulnerable.We researched natural materials which show the same kind of behaviour and respond to situations. Different techniques are already explored where new bio-based materials are being developed like cellulose, plant, material culture, kombucha, and smart materials as well. We focused on materials with similar properties to a semi-permeable membrane in organisms. The construction and selection of the membrane were to determine the rate of permeability.
Andrea: What would you want the audience to reflect because of your project?
Ground Magma: Bubble is also a satire on how we as humans have started living inside a bubble, our world is human-centric. Everything revolves around us. From the economy, food to housing everything is built to cater to humans. This selfishness has led to where we are today where our own existence is threatened by our deeds. The project also acts as a reminder for us to be more aware of the natural world and be more sympathetic towards it rather than having a consumerist approach to life.The use of the ‘bubble’ is an indicator that humans are imprisoned in a world made by us. Just like a hamster inside a cage who keeps running in the wheel, we have become the hamsters now living inside the bubble. Our lives without the bubble are not possible and are fatal for our existence. At this juncture one does not have a choice of using the ‘bubble’, it is a necessity.
Andrea: Do you think something like this could become true in the future?
Ground Magma: Or does it already exist something similar?We are still living in a pandemic situation, and there is still uncertainty about how long we will continue to be in this situation. We could possibly imagine ‘bubble’ to exist in today’s scenario as well. Regarding the production of the material, similar experiments with plant-based cellulose are already happening. there have been numerous applications of cellulose in paper, leather, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food and packaging. It's also possible that we will get to see smarter materials in terms of which will replace other existing material cycles and usages. With technological and biological advances, we could make a similar product exist in real-time in the near future.
Andrea: How do you think speculative design helps to tackle environmental and social issues?
Ground Magma: We believe that speculative design gives us the perspective to see things from an alternate point of view which might not be possible now but it could be thought-provoking and moving. Speculative design helps us to bring about change which could be against the norm but can be characterized as an experiment. Most social and environmental issues are brought about because of existing faulty age-old systems for example over-dependence on nonrenewable energy sources, negligence the cultural heritage. Speculation allows us to see years ahead of the present and bring change to prepare ourselves for the better and allow us to reflect on ourselves. Sometimes bringing about a sociocultural change is a life-threatening exercise, being under the umbrella of speculation we can ensure a relatively safe and progressive design practice.
Andrea: What do you think is your role as a designer of the future?
Ground Magma:
To understand the role of human species in the ecosystem and maintain a sustainable environment in harmony.
Understand the ancient sciences of life and bring them in modern technological practices
Ensuring sensibility towards every design practice we involve in future
Understand the culture and politics of design
To think critically before creating, and reflect on the abundance we have created in plastic, clothing, data etc.
Ensure a minimal impact on the ecosystem as a whole.
Andrea: Which are going to be your next steps for your project or for you as a designer?
Ground Magma: We would like to continue the project and imagine more scenarios on how the product can be used. Understand more on the materials which can be used in the development of our project. We would love to get inputs from various designers, material researchers and bio-tech experts about this project on how we could further look at this. This will help in building more conversation around the project and more ideas might emerge from these. We would like to create a narrative around the project which talks about it in a form of a story, and also try to develop a schematic system considering that this project could be really possible in near future. We would like to look at more sustainable materials and make a circular cycle for its consumption. Then how does that material come back into the chain and add a valve to the whole process? The new alternatives for existing materials which are not sustainable can also be thought of.As designers living in India, we understand that we have some difficult years ahead of us. We would love to continue working together on more projects and develop new ideas for the future. We will have to rethink the design practice we have and critique it in order to fit in the future. A future which has different priorities.
If you want to know more about their work you can con follow them at @akash_badal_, @aniruddhv2 and @shrisssharma.