The Whitefield Art Collective, supported by Yuj Art Foundation and curated by Ms Sumi Gupta is a month-long event that is taking place at VR Bengaluru. The 6th edition started from 18th February and will go on till 18th March 2023.  The edition is titled ‘A Fine Balance’ which revolves around the relationship between man and nature and highlights the repercussions of climate change and the need for sustainability.

The Whitefield Art Collective provides a chance to all the art enthusiasts to come forward and showcase their talent. The program consists of a series of events which take place throughout the month. On display will be sculptures and installations to poetry workshops and art cinema.

JD Institute of Fashion Technology and JD School of Design collaborated with the Art Collective as Educational Partners. On 18th February 2023, the students from the fashion department and interior department of JDSD and JD Institute showcased their collections on ‘Wearable Art’ – Fashion Showcase and an ‘Installation’.

The fashion design aspirants showcased a fashion show which consisted of 3 collections namely ‘Unsettle’, ‘Metakine’ and ‘Antiquity Assemblage’. These were based on fine balance and sustainability which was the key topic of the event.

Unsettle by Shravya S and Bharath Kumar N V focused on the lives of migrants. It was inspired by the future where humans not only embrace technology but end up losing all the resources because of over exploitation.

The designers believe that in the future there will be an excessive shortage of resources and mankind will have to wander around in order to fulfill their basic needs. In order to counter this problem, they designed a convertible range of garments that will easily be converted into tents, bags and sleeping bags whilst serving the real purpose of clothing as well. This will make it easier for people to migrate from place to place.

Metakine by Shruthika and Priyadarshini R drew inspiration from the kinetic sculptures and colours of Metaverse that also depicts the technologically driven liquid society. The colours they chose for their designs are violet, dark shades of pink, black and blue. The fabrics used by the designers for this collection were recycled fabrics.

Furthermore, to give more emphasis on the idea, the designers planned to attach the stripes of lights to the garment to complement the clothes visually.

Antiquity Assemblage by Milana Ediga, Rakshitha V Gowda, Ranjitha S V is an innovative idea of recycling copper waste to make metallic fabric threads. It is a futuristic Avant-Garde collection that is made up of natural fibers such as linen yarn, jute yarn, etc. The traditional weaving methods were used to create the collection as it took a month to produce the fabric.

The collection consisted of bold statement pieces that drew people’s attention to the garment.

The installation put up by the interior design students was called ‘Hangover’. It signified the paradoxical effect observed between humans and nature. The destruction of nature tremendously impacts the environment in the form of future development. Humans often have the tendency to make fair attempts through NGOs, environmental activists, community forums in regards to saving nature. Unfortunately, the imbalance still exists between the wishful intentions and attempts in the form of knots tied around the bitter reality of the suspended bucket filled with the destruction of nature.

The design consists of a pentagonal frame measuring 6 feet wide, 8 feet in height and 10 feet in length. The panels were divided into two parts. It symbolized the randomness in the attempts and gestures being contributed and the unfortunate reality of paradox with the infusion of reflectivity and reality. The ropes are hung from the top frames along with the knots which symbolize the attempts intended and tied. The central bucket is the main subject of the installation. It is suspended from the top frame with a suspension of a foot comprising the top base of the bucket being 2 feet in diameter and the bottom base being feet in diameter. It is then surrounded with twigs which symbolize the destructed nature along the surface by making the inner bucket hollow through which there is an intersection of the ropes.

The Whitefield Art Collective is an amalgamation of art, design and entertainment. It brings together both the artists, connoisseurs and lay people to come and enjoy the plethora of offerings and be able to take away an important environmental message.