The Lure of ceramics

ISSUE: 133

Multidisciplinary designer and artist, Latika Nehra spent over ten a honing her skills at a computer before she discovered the freedom of sinking her fingers into clay

How did your journey in design begin? 

LN: Completely by chance. I was in my final year at Mayo, Ajmer and some friends were circulating application forms for art and design colleges; that was the first time I heard of NID, Ahmedabad. I remember being very inspired by my professor, Tarun Deep Girdhar, who was doing various projects for the Government of India, using visual communication for a very real impact in society. I wanted my journey with design to be something like that.

Why did you choose Germany for your Master’s? 

LN: I knew I wanted to study a bit more before I got caught up in that phase of life that begins with work and ends at retirement. I moved to Germany because I found a Master’s program that was in English, and affordable. However, my thesis had a very big impact on me. It was about ‘Sustainability through handwork’, a very broad topic, and I must confess a very idealistic attempt. Nonetheless, it studied the social, economic and environmental impacts of handwork or working with one’s hands. It started to fill this gap, this disconnect I had been feeling about what I believed in and what I wanted to do.

What was the most difficult part about making the shift from design to art?

LN: I think it has not really been a shift. My background and experience in design feeds into my artistic expression in many ways. The reason why my ceramic forms can achieve certain finesse is because of the long hours I have spent refining logos on Illustrator. My paintings are rich in narrative and are constructed, much like the process that goes into the building of a brand story.

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