® ® www.elledecor.in APRIL - MAY 2025, ` 150 24 YEA RS VERDANT VILLAS Alibaug Ahmedabad Valsad ® TRENDS CHILD’S PLAY GLACIER BLUE FOCUS 30+ WAYS TO WALL INSIDE INDIA DESIGN ID JOURNAL DELHI EDITION THAT GOLDEN HOUR DECOR BUZZ SHIFTING THE GAZE MOULD AND METAL Designer Frédéric Imbert taps into the ancient legacy of metal and wax in his experimental collection for Æquo Gallery TEXT BY NAMRATA DEWANJEE PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY ÆQUO GALLERY Another half of the collection includes furniture crafted through an urgent raw process of sand casting in Mumbai FACING PAGE Created in the traditional black wax of Chhattisgarh, Æquo Gallery shines the spotlight on the material lost in the process of metalwork in sculptural pieces including pedestals, a coffee table and an armchair 116 “I’ve always found it fascinating when a technique leaves its trace on a design, when a finished piece speaks both of my vision and the unique hand of the craftsman who helped shape it” – Frédéric Imbert 117 DECOR BUZZ CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Designer Frédéric Imbert spent two weeks with master craftsman Suresh Waghmare in Chhattisgarh immersing himself in Dhokra craft; Traditionally, a layer of clay is added over the wax which is heated and poured out; The process of creation involves a community of people; The sand-casting technique of Mumbai yielded the brass pieces of the collection; Metal presents a material foil to wax; Imperfections and accidents are celebrated in this style of metal working; Preserving the memory of the process, these two distinct methods of moulding metal carry the geographical imprints of their origins DECOR BUZZ 118 M etal and wax. We often don’t think of the two in conjunction. Metal demands attention, arresting the viewer through its brilliant flamboyance. Wax, on the other hand, is endlessly pliable and melts under a candle. There is nothing the two have in common when it comes to materiality, yet their shared craft narrative can be traced back to Harappa in the Indus Valley. When designer Frédéric Imbert visited India for a collaboration with Æquo Gallery, it was not just India’s ancient metalwork that caught his eye but also the wax that is traditionally lost in the process. “The collaboration with Aequo Gallery was not only a beautiful creative journey, but also a deeply human experience centered around the art of bronze,” says Frédéric. In Chhattisgarh, a particular black wax, often relegated as merely a mould, became the lynchpin of the collection. In November 2023, Frédéric spent two weeks in Chhattisgarh with master craftsman Suresh Waghmare and his team, learning everything he could about the ancient Dhokra craft. But instead of metal, the designer was taken by its pliable yet precise counterpart. The wax-moulded furniture was crafted in the rural hinterlands of the country. With a consuming mystical appearance, they stand frozen in time, as if awaiting the flames of fire. Florence Louisy, designer and creative director of Æquo, elucidates, “What binds the Waxed collection, beyond its apparent contrasts, is a shared logic of gesture. A physical language echoed across both worlds.” Æquo and Frédéric then make their way across India and find themselves in Mumbai, where the sand-casting technique presents a perfect foil to the lost wax method. Raw, immediate and imperfect, carrying every accident of the process into the metal. Cast in sections and welded together, the pieces bear the welding marks as an ode to the process of creation. Frédéric adds, “I’ve always found it fascinating when a technique leaves its trace on a design — when a finished piece speaks both of my vision and the unique hand of the craftsman who helped shape it.” Supported by Epsilon Foundation, the eight sculptural pieces consisting of pedestals, a coffee table, an armchair, a floor light and a console embody the push and pull between artistic mastery and the rawness of the process. This sensorial tension emerging from the duality of forms, material and structure is replete throughout the collection — mould and metal, Dhokra and sand casting, roughness and sheen. Existing as a tectonic reminder of the practice of creation. Website: aequo.in Instagram: @f_imbertstudio The Waxed collection embodies an artistic coming together of Indian and French craftsmanship. This console is one of the eight sculptural pieces resulting from the collaboration between designer Frédéric Imbert and Æquo Gallery 119