Bread from South Mumbai Irani hotspot Kyani will now become art

Student of BFA Ceramics at JJ School Ayushi Shriramwar has frequented Dhobi Talao bakery Kyani amp Co since July to practise baking her bread sculpture PicsSayed Sameer AbediWhile artists may often find the most unusual raw materials to work with mdash from contraceptive pills to Pantone swatches mdash could bread be among those And specifically bread baked at one of Mumbairsquos mostloved Irani cafes Kyani amp CoAyushi must chisel away at the PoP mould to reveal the breadSince July this year Sir JJ School of Art student Ayushi Shriramwar 20 has been a regular at the Dhobi Talao chaibun maska outpost not just to pick up her favourite coconut jam biscuits but also to use their oven to bake her sculpture Currently pursuing a BFA in Ceramics from the institute Shriramwar has been tinkering with allpurpose flour and understanding the nuances of baking from Kyanirsquos seasoned staff to make a sixfeettall sculpture titled Building Under Construction ldquoI always wanted to work with bread and started experimenting with it in a very scientific method There was no better place to do this than Kyanirsquos which I have been frequenting for breakfast for the last few yearsrdquo says Shriramwar who lives in a hostel in the vicinity of the cafeAyushi Shriramwar is creating a sixfoothigh bread sculpture at Kyani and CoShriramwarrsquos sculpture when ready will travel to the Kochi Muziris Biennale KMB 2016 mdash the third edition of one of South Asiarsquos premiere art festivals mdash as part of the Studentsrsquo Biennale Set to take off on December 13 alongside the main festival which is Indiarsquos largest contemporary art exhibition held every two years in Fort Kochi Kerala the Studentsrsquo Biennale will run for 108 days and is being helmed by 15 curators from across the country Among them is Shruti Ramalingaiah who has selected seven students from JJ School including ShriramwarA plywood mockup of the installationTrial and errorWhen we meet Shriramwar on Saturday morning at Kyanirsquos she brings with her a plaster of Paris mould and is excited at having got a grip of maida and traditional coalfire ovens after going through almost 18 experiments at Kyanirsquos ldquoAs I am trained in ceramics I am familiar with the process of baking but it is very different when you work with dough Its elasticity makes it a tricky medium to bring under controlrdquo she explainsAshwam Salokhersquos homage to a chaiwalla at Belapur includes six photographs printed on paper treated with coffee PicAman NegiShriramwarrsquos method involves making a Plaster of Paris mould putting it in the oven to bake with dough filled inside and finally chiselling away at the mould when done ldquoI tried using butter flour and margarine initially to help slip the sculpture out of the mould mdash the way cakes are removed from baking bins mdash but realised that chiselling was my best optionrdquo she explains This process mdash for which Shriramwar has had the help of Kyanirsquos staff Tulsi and Irfan mdash also means working with conditions available in the bakery mdash their oven their baking temperatures and their daily trays of bread ldquoI have to make sure I donrsquot disturb their routinerdquo says Shriramwar as a worker balances a giant tray of pavs from inside the kitchen into the seating areaAman Negi a graduate of portraiture from JJacircAcircu00c2u0080Acircu00c2u0088School has made a series of works on cobbler Rakesh Prasad Saket who runs his shop near Lokmanya Tilak Marg police station Kalbadevi PicPoonam BathijaTo make her sculpture which will rise up to six feet mdash as tall as the mirrored pillars in Kyanirsquos mdash Shriramwar has divided the piece into onefoot segments Each segment will be baked individually for about eight hours from 730 am when the Kyanirsquos furnace gets loaded with other pastries and breads ldquoThey need to be baked for this long so that they become kadak Any more and they will take on the consistency of khari mdash itrsquos brittle and difficult to chisel the mould laterrdquo she saysStudentsrsquo Biennale participating artist Sanika Khanvilkar has worked with metal fabricators in Kalwa for her installation Marching Moulds PicDatta KumbharOnce baked the segments will be held together by an iron rod running through The bread sculpture should bring to mind the multistoreyed towers we see in urbanized centersWorking with skilled communitiesShowing us a mockup of the sculpture in plywood Shriramwar says she is concerned with the sense of claustrophobia and matchbox rooms in multistorey highrises across the countryThe collaboration between the artist and Kyanirsquos is also part of the brief given by curator Ramalingaiah Earlier in July Ramalingaiah had comentored the students in a workshop asking them to look at local communities that involve skilled labour ldquoStudents are familiar with skills in an academic environment We want to see collaborations with communities outside the college campus and do away with the distinction between artisan and artistrdquo she saysAman Negi a JJ School graduate of MFA Portraiture found a muse in Rakesh Prasad Saket a cobbler who runs a stall beside Lokmanya Tilak Marg Police Station in Kalbadevi and draws a large number of policemen for a quick polish or repair Negi has studied Saket and his tools ndash many of which are his own creations ndash through ink drawings oils on paper and even a GIF The 25yearold artist says he was intrigued by the repetitive stitches made by the cobbler ldquoPortraiture is one of the hallmarks of JJ Schoolrdquo says Negi adding ldquobut people think portraits and paintings are deadrdquoSanika Khanvilkar a graduate of BFA Painting has spent time with metal fabricators in Kalwa Thane to create Marching Moulds a series of metal symbols that will be arranged like military regiments Another participant Ashwam Salokhe has chosen a chaiwalla in CBD Belapur for a series of photographs and a sound installation The chaiwalla who is active only during peak hours office hours is known for the distinctive clang that his mortar and pestle makes while crushing gingerRamalingaiah says that works for the Studentsrsquo Biennale will be installed across Jew Town Road to Bazaar Road in Fort Kochi Instead of traditional gallery spaces the sites are Mohammed Ali Warehouse Fadi Hall Heritage Arts Antiques and a spice shop among othersFor Shriramwar the bread sculpture also comes with the additional pressure of working with organic materials Over time within a week or so the sculpture is bound to gather mold Rather than being concerned the artist is curious to see the colour that the sculpture will gain ndash perhaps a moss green or a pale blue ndash as the days progress ldquoI donrsquot see why a work has to be lsquopermanentrsquordquo