Alongside architecture, Geoffrey Bawa’s practice issued a number of furniture designs in response to the social, economic, environmental, and cultural circumstances of the time. Bawa and his associates worked with local craftspeople across disciplines and frequent collaborators to produce pieces embodying this innovative spirit, drawing inspiration from prevalent Scandinavian styles and global designers. Featuring re-editions of furniture, prototypes, and material samples from Geoffrey Bawa's practice—part of Phantom Hands’ Geoffrey Bawa Collection—the exhibition will closely examine the histories and context of these pieces and consider how they can be meaningful for contemporary use.

An Exhibition Curated by Aparna Rao and Channa Daswatte

Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential to be There is the first major exhibition which draws from the archives to look at Bawa’s practice. Organised in four thematic sections, exploring relationships between ideas, drawings, buildings and places, the exhibition explores the different ways in which images were used in Bawa’s practice.

Over 120 documents from the Bawa archives, most of which have never been shown publicly previously, will be on view, including a section on unbuilt work and Bawa’s own photographs from his travels.