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Interactive art with BA Fine Art student Synchar Pde

Synchar is on her hands and knees within her installation, on the floor is a red stencil, and shapes made with tea powder. Synchar holds her hand above the stencil and sprinkling tea powder.
  • Written byGeorgina Lampen
  • Published date 04 August 2022
Synchar is on her hands and knees within her installation, on the floor is a red stencil, and shapes made with tea powder. Synchar holds her hand above the stencil and sprinkling tea powder.
Synchar Pde, The India That I Know by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022.
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

This year’s BA Fine Art course at Chelsea College of Arts brought ambitious installations, bold performance pieces and unique artworks to the Undergraduate and Graduate Diploma Show 2022, as students finished the year on a high.

A selection of work by BA Fine Art from the Undergraduate and Graduate Diploma Show 2022.
Kristy Noble, A selection of work by BA Fine Art from the Undergraduate and Graduate Diploma Show 2022.
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

Amidst the joy and celebration of the show we found time to speak to Synchar Pde, a BA Fine Art graduating student whose installation is entitled The India That I Know, a piece of interactive art which explores the perspectives and variations of Indian history and culture.

In an interview with Synchar, she told us more about her project, her love for the ceramics workshop and the sense of community she found while studying at Chelsea College of Arts.

An installation resembling a domestic space. There is a table with a tablecloth, and stool positioned on top of a rug. Shapes made from tea stencils are on the floor. The walls are decoratively painted with blue and white and a number of small ceramic squares with designs on hangers on the walls. There are two windows with net curtains, each with a landscape view. The room is lit by lamps and feels cosy.
Synchar Pde, The India That I Know by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022.
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

Tells us about your project, The India That I Know:

My work surrounds the notion that the way to know a culture and its people is through the domestic space. Through my installation, I am showing a part of India that is never represented and presenting an India that I know. Through the ideas of tea – a common staple in any Indian household – colours and boardgames, I am attempting to decolonise different elements of the domestic space.

An installation resembling a domestic space. There is a table with a tablecloth, and stool positioned on top of a rug. Shapes made from tea stencils are on the floor. The walls are decoratively painted with blue and white and a number of small ceramic squares with designs on hangers on the walls.
Synchar Pde, The India That I Know by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022.
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
Four ceramics are hung on the wall, boarded by a light blue decorative design. A tall lamp with a glass shade is lit and positioned close to the ceramics and balanced against the wall on the floor are stencils.
Synchar Pde, ‘The India That I Know’ by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022.
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

The inspiration behind my project came from the need to have a better of understanding of where I come from. I wanted to explore the extent to which colonisation has affected us, such that it reaches into and influences our domestic spaces.

For my installation, I used an array of materials and objects such as different black teas from various parts of India, ceramic tiles, furniture such as bamboo stools and miniature sitting chairs, a table with miniature Khasi souvenir board games such as Ludo, a calendar and lace curtains.

A work in progress installation shot, there are 3 walls in position, painted decoratively in blue and white. Within the installation there is a table with a roller paint tray, a stall with a book and a bottle of water on top and blue strips of white paper are positioned on the floor.
Synchar Pde, The India That I Know by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022.
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

You included an interactive piece within your artwork, can tell us about this?

The original piece was a tea carpet, but for the Undergraduate and Graduate Diploma Show, I wanted to create a tea carpet using tea powder with my audience through the stencils I had created, which are inspired by Indian handloom motifs and borders.

Different shapes made by tea powder are displayed on the floor within Synchar’s installation of a domestic space.
Synchar Pde, The India That I Know by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022.
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
Synchar is kneeling on the floor within her installation of a domestic space, she has her dark hair tied back in a plat and is wearing a long brown dress. Another person in a white shirt crouches beside Synchar and is looking at the tea stencil and tea powder on the floor. Another two people are standing also looking at the tea powder.
Synchar Pde, The India That I Know by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022.
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

As people made the carpet with me many commented on how therapeutic it was, and what makes this piece better than a solo performance was that I had many conversations with my audience. Conversations around tea, its history and current state, carpets, motifs, stereotypes, decolonisation, and the people who call India home.

Interactive art is not always easy because you don't know if people will want to engage, and the piece can only exist if people do. I had no control over the outcome.

Synchar is kneeling on the floor within her installation of a domestic space, she has her dark hair tied back in a plat and is wearing a long brown dress. Another person in a white vest top is crouching in front of her and touching a red stencil placed on the floor.
Synchar Pde, The India That I Know by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

You mentioned that you used a lot of different materials for your installation, did you visit any of the workshops?

I visited the laser cutting studios and the print services, but the ceramics workshop was the one I spent most of my time in. The technicians were very patient in teaching me, since I was a complete beginner and I only started using this workshop just before the Easter break.

You really feel like the technicians want you to learn, and after one session you feel like you have done so much work. The environment and atmosphere of the whole workshop is very calm. Sometimes the technicians will play the radio which makes the whole atmosphere very pleasing and easy to work in.

Six clay rectangle shaped pieces, each with an individual design on of a flower or plant.
Synchar Pde, Work in progress ceramics by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
A wall with a blue decorative boarder and a square cream centre where 5 colourful rectangle shaped ceramics with individual designs are hung sporadically.
Synchar Pde, The India That I Know by Synchar Pde BA Fine Art 2022
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

Finally, as a student of BA Fine Art what did you enjoy most about studying the course?

I have really enjoyed the different groups and forums that this course has to offer, from E-conditions to the Black Lives Matter Forum. Whatever opportunity the course had to offer, I tried my best to make the most out of it. I am very proud of the community I found here and to be surrounded by so many talented artists.

I remember something one of my tutors mentioned and that was that I would learn more from my peers than my tutors and it is true. We have seen our practices grow and change through the last three years and really evolve into the artists we are today.

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