This series, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth, unveils the backstage of contemporary creation. Tackling various topics from personal designer processes to the position of collectible design on the global design market, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth offers different views to suit all tastes. Today we speak with Swati Jain from unown space.

C: How can collectible design be a representation or reaction to the current societal, political or economic questions?

Swati Jain: We live in a world full of spatial biases, from mass-produced objects, signs and architecture that cater to a homogenized idea of the human body. Collectible design scale of assembling ideas together gives time and space to innovate new ways of thinking and making sensitized spaces that respond to different proportions and sensibilities of individuals or communities. For instance, many car seats are designed with masculine proportions in mind, leading to the stereotype that women can't drive. Inclusive design requires time and effort to accommodate varied body types, innovations in styles, material inventions and speculative objects for the future. However, securing institutional or private funding for such research can be challenging and slow. Freeing oneself from market needs and wants carves out liberation and freedom in the process of making and unmaking things. Collectible design provides a platform for exploring revolutionary ideas on a smaller scale, allowing designers to create unique, limited-edition objects. These creations can either evolve into mainstream products if successful or remain as thought-provoking artifacts that challenge conventional norms and inspire new perspectives.

C: How will collectible design influence spaces outside the home?

SJ: My work blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor environments. Unown space’s sculptural objects act as thresholds to transcend into unknown time, unknown space. They transform our understanding of what domestic intimacies are and how it can be liberated from the indoors into cosmic wilderness through everyday ritualistic performances. The 5 spaces act as thresholds to help us give birth to space, camouflage ourselves, practice silence to gestate thoughts, disintegrate so one can reincarnate a new possibility of the future. For instance, “Table on a Walk” is a work table that disperses each organ (80 kit of parts) embodying all the 5 elements — earth, water, fire, air, and space to bring more awareness to the multifaceted impact of our choices on the environment and other beings. This framework helps extend oneself into an expanded field of environmental embodiment, giving mobility to the act of thinking and working, it invites a mindful approach to creativity and productivity.

C: How does the cultural diversity of your city influence your design choices and the narratives behind your collectible pieces?

SJ: I think living the cities heartbeat profoundly shapes my design work, for example I designed the “table on a walk” when I was living on the Upper East Side in New York and going on my daily walks to Central Park, inspired by dogs and how they become companions into our everyday ritual of taking a walk, which brings the outside in and the inside out. 

I belong to two cities at the same time - New York and Bombay. This collection was a perfect combination of both these beautiful chaotic cities. While the initial ideas for this collection were conceived in New York the making was in Bombay and a few other craft villages in India - since my familiarity with the material cultures and people is more intimate in my hometown. Setting up my studio with wonderful craftsmen who I was delighted to live and collaborate with for the  fabrication of these pieces.

C: How do you navigate the balance between embracing technological advancements in your design process while preserving traditional craftsmanship?

SJ: Technology assists in diagramming the body and conceptualizing design interventions, figuring out joinaries at the microscale to make cohesive designed choices. Bringing ideas to life in material form for me is all about collaborating with different craft sectors across geographies in a very serendipitous and organic way which allows me to learn and adapt traditional craft techniques into my work.  For instance, my recent work with textiles involved learning traditional techniques from weavers in the small village of Maheshwar, India. I worked closely with Dr. Ismail Khatri, a renowned Ajrakh craftsman from Kutch, Gujarat who gave me chemistry lessons on natural dyeing during a sweltering Indian summer day. Similarly, for woodwork, I spent six months living with carpenters in a small town south of Mumbai called Alibaug, learning the intricacies of woodworking and craftsmanship. It’s a magical extraordinary process in which being naive is rather a necessary quality to be able to experiment and innovate and always being open to possibilities of making and unmaking space. While traditional craftsmen may initially resist new methods due to their established practices, once they are on board, the collaboration becomes a playful and transformative journey plus making friends with craft communities is a beautiful way of connecting with my heritage. This blend of traditional skills and technological advancements allows me to create designs that respect historical craftsmanship while embracing contemporary forms of innovation. Being open to both new possibilities and traditional techniques is crucial for developing a cohesive and ever evolving design practice.

C: Can you talk about a designer, whom you admire / Can you talk about a gallerist, whom you admire?

US: One designer / architect I deeply admire is Frida Escobedo. Her innovative work spans from architectural interventions to her striking design of the Serpentine Pavilion and her explorations in furniture. Her design approach has been a significant source of inspiration for me. Historically, I am inspired by the 6th-century poet Andal. Her poetry calls for revolutionary ideas around body, radical faith and design for me, resonating deeply with my own explorations.

In terms of galleries, I appreciate R & Company for their experimental and performative approach to art and design. Carpenters Workshop Gallery for their commitment to craftsmanship, while Friedman Benda, for fostering critical dialogues between designers and the broader design community

C: Can you discuss a specific cultural or historical reference that has inspired your recent work in collectible design?

US: ChAir, makes reference to Sittanavasal which translates to “the abode of great saints” a 2nd-century rock-cut monastery in Tamil Nadu, India. Stone carved beds were used by ascetics for severe austerities such as Kayotsarga, a practice of complete surrender. ChAir has been crafted from Paduk wood, which has a rich, red, fleshy grain that resembles the human body. With anthropomorphic organ like AirPods resembling the fullness of life. The ChAir’s "breathing organs" / airpods age and wear with use. As one touches the unpolished red fleshy surface, one can feel the powered fragments of the wood on their hands causing the space to disintegrate itself with time liberating itself from its body. 

Prompted by dawn and our mortality the disintegrating body descending from conscious into unconscious states, dissolving time and space much like the inscriptions found on the beds at Sittanavasal, which date from the third century BCE. This disintegration allows for unconscious chalking with the red dust to be used to reconstruct new spatial worlds. Reflecting the idea of "performing disintegration" to experience the texture of time, growth, and disintegration of the body for chalking new worlds / transformation. This concept is rooted in the idea of multiplicity and the ability to transcend various states simultaneously, living in a profound presence that bridges historical and contemporary narratives.

C: What have you been up to recently? What are the next projects/exhibitions you wish to highlight?

US: I am presenting work with the Brooklyn Museum, from October 4, 2024–January 26, 2025 part of The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition. 

In terms of new work, I am investigating the concepts of presence and absence within ecological and cultural material histories. My focus is on how these elements are measured and displaced through economic and cultural institutions in and around New York City. I aim to re-wild and un-measure these atmospheric conditions using performative, ritualistic, and craft-based approaches from a feminist and decolonial perspective. My goal is to highlight historical practices and create new ways for communities to explore dimensions of identities and agencies through contemporary technology and reconstitution of imaginative landscapes. 

My conceptual prototyping involves exploring ephemeral phenomenologies and the movement of various environmental bodies (human, non-human, and other species) in time and space through archaeological and ecological spatial designs. By staging new encounters, such as iridescent invisible textiles, decolonial dioramas for the MET, planetary game designs for un-measuring the city, and collective kitchens. Recently inspired by Precious Okoyomon’s work, I hope to design plant objects that integrate different plant species into our intimate indoor spaces, both literally and metaphorically. I seek to address planetary biases and advocate for the liberation of material histories and ecological re-wilding. My aim is to re-wild our bodies, homes, and cities through these new forms of spatial narratives. These projects represent a blend of creative experimentation and critical inquiry, and I’m excited to share them with the broader public once they are realized.

C: If you were to collaborate with someone outside of the design scene, from an other industry, who would you pick? How do you see the role of interdisciplinary collaboration shaping the future of collectible design?

US: I believe the future of design lies in transdisciplinary collaboration. Bringing together diverse fields and expertise allows for the fusion of different frameworks and bodies of knowledge, which can lead to groundbreaking innovations. By working with curious minds from various disciplines, we can develop new languages in art, design, and poetry, creating imaginative and inclusive solutions. This collaborative approach is essential for crafting a future that embraces endless possibilities and fosters an egalitarian and expansive imaginative landscape.

I would be eager to collaborate with scientists, archaeologists, fashion designers, game designers, and gardeners. For instance, I’ve been working with a fashion designer from the past few month to develop an iridescent fabric, which has been a fascinating journey of studying iridescent features in species like pigeons and trying to figure out how we can create a textile that can give a spectral or specter effect to a body through manipulating light.