Satish Behera is a design student in India who has been exploring the ancient craft of paper maché as an ecological design material. His style is so unique, his designs so impressionable that they are hard to forget. His has created a style that is very professional and objects that are very desirable.
Using nothing more than newspaper, glue and varnish, Behera’s medium winds around and around itself as it becomes both base and cover, while Behera molds each strip into an elegant cultural work of function and art. Each work has a patina of its own created by the blend of varnish, glue, and paper ink, adding even more distinctiveness to Behera’s style.
Eco-Ganesha is a modern, ecological sculpture of an ancient Hindu god, a god who, legend has it, has an elephant head. It is exquisitely formed with rich detail that’s astounding when you consider the designer’s medium.
The Eco- Lamp or the Paper Table Lamp was a challenge for Behara who writes that the unusual form resulted from his placement of the lamp’s center of gravity. Though Behara uses every strip of newspaper he acquires in his exploration, he acknowledges that he had to use "alien" products like wire, a bulb and the bulb holder. This is a functioning lamp with a 60 watt bulb.
Wanting to design something more interesting than a box for a speaker, Behara created the Eco-Speakers to look like large snail shells/ Again, you see his meticulous craftsmanship.
Of course, these works were simply explorations Mr. Behara undertook as part of his design coursework, but they’re awfully interesting and I should think marketable as well!
Satish Behera
