OTHER
CHARACTERS
From a single Indian block print motif, a 100+ shape modular alphabet unfolds. Hand-printed textiles translate rigid linear structures into soft abstraction, turning pattern into a fluid, evolving language.
Other Characters explores Indian block printing as a language between cultures. At its core is An Alphabet of Shapes—a modular system of over 100 shapes derived from a single traditional motif. Selected characters are hand-printed using archival wooden blocks and numbered to match their place in the alphabet, simultaneously readable and abstract.
Repetition—central to block printing—is extended through an experimental approach where strict linear structures soften into fluid forms. Inspired by architecture and graphic systems, patterns are treated as modular elements that can be built, expanded, and reinterpreted across contexts, positioning craft as an evolving design language.
The textiles are produced as limited-editions intended for exhibition and interior spaces.
"I was in search of a language -
not my mother tongue,
nor one of the many spoken in India
the country I have lived in for years.
Words, I came to realise, are not enough
to grasp what lies beneath a language:
the culture.
My search focused on a visual language instead, a shared language,
or at least a language that brings together
elements of both my worlds.
I was not seeking contradiction,
not a confrontation between one and the other,
but rather the quiet space in between -
an unexplored realm,
a visual dialogue between cultures."
Other Characters 2025 | Studio Bhatt
Finalist Isola Design Awards 2025 (Textile Category)
Exhibitions:
Milan Design Week 2026 (IT)
Dutch Design Week 2025 (NL)
Kanoria Center for the Arts, Ahmedabad (IN)
Created by
Drawings / Text / Collages / Design by Eline Groeneweg-Bhatt
Block-printed by Parijat Studio, Gujarat
Organic khadi cotton by Asal
Images
Photography & Creative Direction Hunny Awatramani
Production Brij Trivedi / Location Studio 3fold