Books are often our best friends, our guides — they can alter our perspective towards life. While some read books for pleasure (or learning) and then discard them, others neatly stack them in their bookshelves. And then there are those, like book sculptor Aditi Babel, who create works of art out of these books.
“Book sculpting is about giving new life to old, discarded books which are in a bad shape. To make them into a beautiful art piece needs time and patience. All good things take time, only then do they become timeless,” says Aditi, explaining what her craft entails.
The book sculptor’s work begins with an idea many people may not be comfortable with — tearing, folding and distorting the shape of books. “I started to practise it because it seemed like a very interesting concept. Later, however, I saw the potential to recycle old books through this, and hence continued to enjoy the craft and evolve it. I am very easily inspired: Nature, family, friendships, art, interesting people, conversations, history and travel — these always work for me.
And daydreaming helps to push certain ideas!” Aditi says. Aditi was commissioned to create a book inspired by the Bhagvad Gita for actor Amitabh Bachchan on his 70th birthday. “It was unique because that was the first time I created a composition with my book sculpture,” she recounts. “I used a traditional Kavard form to create a box in which I transformed a really old copy of the Bhagavad Gita published in 1941 that I found in the quaint and old bylanes of Udaipur. Another cherished design is an artist’s book that was turned into a beautiful invite for a Kathak dancer for her stage performance.”
About her latest works, Aditi says, “The recent books I have created are more for all folks to enjoy rather than just a select few. I have made handcrafted sketchbooks for artists/writers. The series is a collection of unique bindings with fabric covers of indigo prints with traditional hand block printing of Rajasthan. Overall, the books become a one-of-a-kind, completely handcrafted piece of design — craft and history, in your hand.”
Design, for Aditi, is a way of life. “The way one would understand, learn and apply the finer details of how things function or how human beings in a society behave, the way one fits in and still stands out is a unique craft. Understanding and applying that craft is design to me,” she says.
Aditi likes to explore different mediums and varied techniques to create unique designs. She shares, “I like to explore different mediums. I have worked with paper, acrylic, wood and metal and I also like to explore different techniques with my work. For example, silk screen, linoleum, photography, laser cut, water cut etc. I try to approach all my projects with all my art, craft and design sensibilities. The designs/products are well researched, conceptual, contextual and completely handcrafted, which is what makes them unique.”
Creating altered books is something that Aditi was introduced to in Italy while studying traditional book-making and printmaking as a part of her course. “I completed my graduation degree in Fine Arts from Jaipur after which I took up Visual Communication as my major for post graduation at IDC, IIT Bombay and then completed a short course in Book Craft from Florence, Italy. I taught book craft at different design institutes across India. I also recently finished a course on Woman Entrepreneurship from IIM Udaipur. I now run a design and craft studio in Udaipur,” she says.
Trying hard to create awareness about this new form of art, she is hopeful people will gradually open up to the idea of seeing books in a different and more aesthetic form. Quoting the Dalai Lama, she concludes, “If you think you are too small to make a difference in the world, try sleeping with a mosquito in a room.”
