Syed Murshed

The conservative ideals of someone’s ancestral homeland clashes with the liberal western ways of life. ‘Pitter Patter’ was made in response to the pressure of conforming to one nationality’s dogma. This pressure should be replaced by welcoming a new identity; both parts of what makes us, us. 

Combining the icon of a village roof from Bangladesh, with an umbrella which is often perceived as a British symbol, celebrates the hybrid cultural experience of second-generation Bengali immigrants. My project recreates the auditory, visual, textural and olfactory experience of our ancestral home, here in London.

This enquiry consists of a corrugated umbrella, corrugated rings, and ring boxes. The umbrella is visually beautiful; water-tight whilst also emulating the sound of my grandma’s roof. The carefully designed rings can be carried around anywhere comfortably, with the sound of home literally at your fingertips. Dragging your nails across the tiny corrugation emulates the desired sound of raindrops on village roofs, reliving the nostalgic, distant experience of home.

Craftsmanship runs deep in our culture, which I wanted to honour. I manually corrugated the aluminium with a pipe and custom wooden jig using a fly press. The corrugated triangle panels were riveted together to form the body. The steel handle was then bolted through the body to hold it together. The stainless-steel rings are made using lost wax casting. The custom ring boxes are made from woven bamboo and maple I lugged over to the UK in my carry-on. As maple is commonplace and woven bamboo is used under corrugated steel roofing for sound and thermal insulation in Bangladesh, these materials are a reminder of home.

This project communicates the celebration of the new mixed reality dual native citizens find themselves in, a loud proud proclamation that we are here, unapologetically embracing both English and Bengali culture.