Plates and play: This exhibition in Mumbai blends food, art and design

Eeshaan Kashyap is in the thick of orchestrating a world that swallows you whole Inside a cavernous space in Delhirsquos Chattarpur farmlands he is conjuring a Victorianera train station for fashion label Cordrsquos 10year anniversary celebrationmdashwhere the guests are puppets in a grand immersive spectacle They arrive clutching station cards stepping into a fever dream of theatrical opulence in which food appears to float hover and whirl around them like an illusionistrsquos trick As he finetunes this moving masterpiece the New Delhibased multidisciplinary artist chef and restless creator looks ahead sharing ldquoAfter this I have to pack up 4000 pieces into a 32foothigh trunk for BombayrdquoA terracotta cabbage vaseAfter two celebrated shows in the city over the past few years Kashyap will be returning this week to The Stands in Wankhede Stadium with a showcase titled PLAY between March 5 and 9 ldquoIrsquove had a lot of ideas incubating for a while now and this time yoursquoll see different pieces Irsquove experimented with using techniques I thought might not be possible But the narrative of course is all around the tablerdquo he points outmdasha nod to being a trained chef and soughtafter food and design consultant His surrealist designs have transformed prominent restaurants and bars such as PCO PDA Agrave Ta Maison SAZ Pingrsquos Cafeacute Orient and Jamun along with weddings and curated events across the countryWhile smaller objects retail in Mumbai at Le Mill ldquomostly for gifting or as an introduction to what we dordquo Kashyap describes this edit as a continuation of the storytelling from his last show Artist Proof This time however he pushes the boundaries further introducing pieces wersquoll be seeing for the first time such as chairs and lights ldquowith a very bold and brave visual vocabulary where each one unapologetically stands out with a composition of coloursrdquoGolden scallop spoon a lapis lazuli plate and tumbler in blue soda stoneSpread across three sections to break the show into a story of immersive experiences the first unfolds as a dreamscape of elements highlighting what Kashyap calls table jewellery From a bandhani totem to a table carved out of solid crystal a confetti of intricately crafted pieces and objets drsquoart cascade across the space bringing together materials from a delicate twig to a prized ruby ldquoThis brass totem was designed to look like the metal is visually flowing out while these napkins bear kalamkari printing and this entire tablecloth is made from rice paper with shibori dyeing on itrdquo he points outThe next section is ldquotonal tactile and terrificrdquo a vibrant cacophony of fluid shapes and morphed objects that come together in a design symphony Here Kashyap plays with the diversity of daily life through tableware Structured solid materials balance and collide playfully with raw organic natural forms to build objects that invite interaction ldquoI also wanted to explore the fragility of beauty and its impermanence and used ice as a material to depict this Yoursquoll find ice sculptures as candle stands here slowly melting to transform the space as they disappearmdasha poignant reminder of how beauty exists in momentsrdquo he saysA red and black vase collection form part of the exhibitionDedicated to nostalgia the last movement in the showcase leans to the past and builds on Kashyaprsquos earlier iconic designs such as the squaredbased Modern Matka ldquoAnd therersquos also a collection of my favourite pieces and plates But nothing is matchymatchy heremdashI want everyone to play around with whatrsquos on display and create their own compositionsrdquo he addsWhile a ldquotightly curated websiterdquo with objects for the everyday is in the works for now Kashyap could use a wellearned breather ldquoThis feels more like Irsquom planning a weddingmdash I just had a long meeting about the fragrance we want wafting through the showhelliprdquo he quips hurriedly rushing to his phone