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<h5-red>CLIENT<h5-red> MAX ESTATES I <h5-red>AREA<h5-red> 530 SQ FT I <h5-red>STATUS<h5-red> COMPLETED IN 2025 I <h5-red>TEAM<h5-red> ASHA SAIRAM, AMBRISH ARORA, HUDA ATEEQUE, INSHA RIZVI. PERFORMANCE DESIGN BY CROW AND ART BY XXL COLLECTIVE
Commissioned by Max Estates and conceptualised by Studio Lotus, the installation at India Art Fair 2025 has been envisioned not as a final piece of art, but rather as a space enabling the process of creation itself. Over the course of four days, artists worked live within the structure, symbolic of an urban forest. Entirely constructed in FSC timber and birch ply, it was designed to be completely dismantlable, relocated to the public space of an upcoming Max Estates project after the event.
The artwork by XXL Collective represented the microcosm of Delhi, drawing from its dichotomies —greenery abounding within an urban jungle, sweltering summers sharply contrasted by biting winters, history meeting modernity, and energy and serenity existing in equal measure.
At specific times of the day, a choreographed performance by Crow saw the newly-created art being taken outside, and the installation successively added to. The experience aimed to be rooted in the local, each performer and artist wearing costumes inspired by Delhi’s thriving street culture, thrifted and worked on with techniques borrowed from Indian textile crafts.
The dynamic play of assembly-disassembly allowed the art piece to be unfurled in layers, with the final outcome revealed only at the end of day four. Expressed in the style of a graphic novel, the artwork also invited visitors to partake in the process in small ways, creating an immersive, participatory and memorable experience.
A small chai stall, from EatWell, Max’s food & nutrition vertical, was part of the installation, to strengthens the idea of community and service.
Atop the structure, a mezzanine floor with a small garden created a much-needed and appreciated space for rest and visual respite from the frenetic activity taking place below. The installation, in effect, represented this microcosm that is Delhi — brimming with vitality, but with just enough room to retreat into one’s own cocoon.
"The installation is designed as a social space, not just an object to admire, reflecting Max's values and the embodiment of wellness. Like our work at Studio Lotus, the focus is on celebrating the ‘process’ of creation, fostering engagement and interaction rather than mere observation."
— Asha Sairam, | Principal, Studio Lotus
<rt-red>Dichotomy of Delhi <rt-red>
Inside India’s contemporary art scene
