*Can diegetic prototypes be far behind?
http://indianbydesign.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/dirty-hands/
"Indian By Design: How did it all start?
"Dirty Hands: The company ‘Dirty Hands’ was founded three years ago by Rajiv Subba and Mamta Gautam, both students of National Institute of Design (NID), specialists in ceramic and Glass design. Rajiv Subba graduated from Chandigarh Art College where he perused sculpture and Mamta graduated from School of planning and architecture from Delhi where she graduated as an architect. During their academic course of two years at NID, they realized they had complementary skills and collaborated to help each other in their assignments. It was in 2008 they further collaborated to form ‘DIRTY HANDS’ at National design Business Incubation (NDBI). The team comprises of friends from their college days. The design house is a collective of skilled and specialized architects, designers and artists under the same roof. Our team comprises of fifteen talented and skillful individuals.
"Indian By Design: Were there any precedents in India that you could learn from? What is the process like?
"Dirty Hands: The material was new to us and there was no organization in India where we could go and take coaching or workshops to gain information on the material. It was each individual’s effort put in together that resulted in the art pieces that you see today.
"The process is time consuming and demanding. We gathered all the details and data from the Internet and brainstormed to find solutions to bring out the best. We took two years to master the material. The entire journey was magical, there were days and nights when we did not sleep and just explored the material and its various possibilities but as the saying goes no effort is ever wasted. The credit goes to each and every individual working in the company, we couldn’t have reached where we are without their hard work and support.
"Indian By Design: The general understanding of realistic mannequins is more in terms of Madam Tussauds and the wax works. How is what you do different from that?
"Dirty Hands: The mannequins in Madam Tussauds are in wax and the mannequins we have made are in silicon. Silicon material has a longer life than wax. Our material shelf-life is more than fifty years. Secondly the look and feel of wax is very different from that of silicon. Wax is high-maintenance as it’s a soft material and is not heat resistant. Silicon is low-maintenance, you can clean the dust by just spraying some soap water.
"Indian By Design: Artists like Ron Mueck, Evan Penny and Carol Feuerman have turned hyper-realistic mannequins into collectible art pieces. Have any of them been inspirational in your work and do you plan to exhibit on your own any time?
"Dirty Hands: The entire team consists of skilled artists and we plan to exhibit in a few months time...."
