Design firm Multitude Of Sins presents project BigTop, a farm-to-table eatery born from the brewing cauldron of nostalgia and travel, and christened as The Circus Canteen. The circus is seen as an event of fanfare, wherein troop members put together a spectacle far removed from the clutches of the mundane.
BigTop has been conceived with unconventionality helming the process. Each element, from surface finishes, custom lighting, and art installations, to furniture, has been curated from a city-wide waste donation drive; treasures wrought from salvage markets and dumping yards with less than 10% of the material being freshly sourced.
Graced by the artistic community of Bangalore Creative Circus, this venue is emblematic of unshackled creative expression that manifests as hues, textures, and bespoke upcycled installations. Each table encapsulates a transportive experience, ensuring that the waste dons a reimagined sculptural presence entwined with utility.
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
The cafe displays a circus theme, with acts of whimsical fanfare unfolding right at the entrance. A series of arches dot the passage when one makes their way inside. Bathed in a lively warm teal hue, these arches made of scrap metal pose as architectural features to create a sense of movement as one traverses the space. Grunge chandeliers made of bike chains and metal filings levitate over the passageway, flanked by upcycled vehicle headlights that present themselves as bespoke luminaires. The overarching flooring is an ensemble of discarded display samples pieced together in a Tetris-inspired fashion. A patchwork collage of discarded wallpaper swatches creates a riveting backdrop to the food counter, imbuing it with an interplay of colour and pattern. The focal collage wall is a mishmash of e-waste, sanitary fixtures, and discarded furniture that resembles a whimsically imagined jigsaw of waste.
Above, a floral neon- tubed chandelier in the lounge area blooms in complete glory as the evening inches on and the surrounding box lights by Nithin Sadhu have been layered with custom filaments to provide a cosmic iridescence.
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
The heart of the floor plan is occupied by the mammoth community table which surreptitiously hugs a structural column, expanding almost organically around it. The reclaimed pine wood top has been swathed in a white hue, with dual-toned white and lilac legs that were formerly adjustable aluminium furniture legs procured from an office space. The chairs, though each unique in their make, abide by a cohesive design palette refurbished in sprightly printed fabric choices.The carnivalesque linear pendant that presides over the community table is a stellar collaboration amidst Light and Tape Artist Nithin Sadhuand our wallpaper vendor. Nithin has pieced together intricate tape to create a custom fascia for the luminaire which is amalgamated with upcycled snippets of wallpaper. A miniature racetrack installation seems to find its bearings in an alternate dimension as Jim Beam race-car form sculptures whizz upon to compete in a lap that the human eye cannot witness.
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
A brass-finished metal signage arch reaches across the length of the table, spelling out the word “Christmas” as dainty fairy lights encase the calligraphy precariously. The base of the table has been created using discarded plywood and the chairs have been reupholstered in custom Alice In Wonderland-inspired prints that boast of rabbits, antelopes and owls decked up to grace a stately reception in town with scrap mild steel armrests shaped into form.
The artist’s section has taken a renewed approach towards upcycling abandoned couches that dotted the roadsides in the city. They have been painted in a distressed finish and embellished with paintbrushes over which portraits of ever so posh damsels have been painted by Artist Kamesh Bhagatji. The table here has been composed of old paint barrels which were coupled with stray bits of mesh and rope to be finally adorned by graffiti art created by Artist Shunnal Ligade.
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
-
- Photo credit: Ishita Sitwala
From every angle, Project BigTop is the beacon of a pressing environmental message, doused in artistic mien, while revealing its identity to its end-users. It is a space for misfits, where oddities belong serendipitously!
Source: v2com
