Seoul Curry


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Creator/Artist: Chinmay Bhave

Category: Communication Design

Document: P2 Project

Batch: 2012-2014

Source: India,   IDC IIT Bombay

Period:  2009-2018

Medium: Report pdf

Supervisor: Prof. Sudesh Balan


Detailed Description

This project was inspired by the travel accounts of ancient travellers like Marco Polo, Xuan Zhang, and Ibn Battuta, etc., who travelled to new lands and wrote vivid accounts of their experiences. These travelogues became bodies of knowledge pertaining to the regions explored and were important exploratory ventures for the countries these travellers represented. Burton Holmes, who is credited with coining the term "travelogue," monetized his skills by conducting travel lectures. These travellers satiated the curiosity of their countrymen about the new cultures they visited. Today, these documents are landmark reference points for exploring the cultural history of the regions these travellers explored. I intend to create a visual travelogue that presents a point-of-view account of my experiences in the land of the morning calm. The travel writings of noted Marathi writer P. L. Deshpande are known for his deep cultural and behavioural observations. Whether he travelled within India or abroad, his writings described the cultural landscape as well as interesting personalities within these contexts. I wanted to "see things differently," and P. L. Deshpande was an important reference point for me. Any comprehensive ethnographic project requires much longer fieldwork as well as familiarity with the language. These two qualities are critical to gaining ethnographic authority. My project is an exploratory first step that borrows from concepts of visual anthropology in order to break the mould of structured journalistic methodology and see beyond what travel guides tell you. This would require focusing on visual culture, interactions, and going off the beaten track. As a designer, I would like to create a tool that can use cameras as a research tool to unravel cultural insights. I want to present my travel experiences and stories with dual temporality. While the book sums up the experience of travelling across South Korea and living there as a student, the blog would be a collection of images where each experience in South Korea has its own unique perspective. The book is a picture story that gives a holistic description of what South Korea was like for me. On the other hand, the blog viewer can enjoy each image separately as a work of art or design. It allows the photographer in me to present stories of journeys within a journey. I have explored the duality in the photo-word relationship as well. In book form, my notes supplement my images, allowing me to say exactly what I want to say and elaborate with precision. In the blog, words are kept to a minimum, and I expect the viewer to interpret and react.