Dushyant Bansal and Priyanka Sharma founded Studio Raw Material in 2016. Based in western India in the plains of Rajasthan, the duo connects with their local community’s material culture and values through their studio practice.
Studio Raw Material works are designed through an investigative lens by examining the socio-economic forces that reimagine waste materials and redefine notions of value. An ongoing exploration of geology in terms of material and processes, their Khokhar series celebrates the act of ‘gathering,’—features puzzled compositions of stacked marble offcuts from the local stone industry. Challenging conventional perceptions of marble as a highly finished material, the works reflect eroding landscapes reshaped by rapid industrial activity and serves as a commentary on the amount of waste produced by the marble industry.
A further exploration of materials from their regional landscape and indigenous craft, their series of lighting sculptures entitled Rock Paper Scissors is based on miniature mausoleum Tazias used in ritual processions. Made of finely sliced strips of bamboo lined with a sunn-hemp paper skin, their geometrical forms are meant to evoke a contemplative resonance that arises from participation in rituals.
