Huzefa Rangwala, Jasem Pirani and Priyanka Thaker on mutual respect, love and admiration as the backbone of their successful collaboration

Collaboration is innovation; it’s like connecting dots that haven’t been linked before. Historically, some of the most iconic designs have emerged from the synergy of minds that dared to merge their distinct perspectives. These collaborations, often between architects, interior designers, and artists, have not only challenged the conventional boundaries of design but have also set new benchmarks in creativity and innovation.

The first on our list of successful collaborations we have MuseLAB x House Of Berserk (Huzefa Rangwala, Jasem Pirani & Priyanka Thaker)

What unexpected event or realisation led you to consider collaboration with a potential competitor?
MuseLAB: It was definitely somewhere between the eruption of Vesuvius and the start of the ice age. Also, the only place we’d compete would be at the Colosseum as gladiators and she’d beat us both in a creative fight of jujitsu.

House of Berserk (HOB): The stars were probably aligned in a once in a decade kind of a cosmic event for us to have crossed paths. On a serious note, I feel MuseLAB is experimental and bold with their practice and choices. And House of Berserk too is fearlessly unhinged. Both the person and the practice. So, it technically is a match that will go down in history. We first got introduced at RAW COLLABORATIVE where we had displayed our installation called the Barren Brides. Of what I am assuming is they took their sweet time in getting in touch with us but were continuously gauging our consistency. What followed is right here for us all to see.

How did you overcome your initial reservations about working with someone in the same field? How has this collaboration redefined your understanding of your own creative process?
MuseLAB: Collaborations are born out of mutual respect and love and admiration for each other’s work. Hence there were no reservations. In fact, it was always about what will Priyanka create when we set the next brief for her and how will she transform the space through art.
Also, we have come to realise that we cannot design every corner of a space ourselves. We do rely on using products which are also designed by other designers. So it’s important to accept one’s limitations creatively and work with the right creative partners to further the design narrative of a project.

HOB: Creative work is too large and diverse and extensive for us to be insecure about how we will be perceived. There is no absolute way of working through it. Also, more than that I have realized
we are all problem solvers and story tellers at the end of the day. The more we engage other people, the more we open ourselves up to the possibilities of expanding our own vision and practice.

Can you share an instance where a disagreement led to an unexpected breakthrough?
MuseLAB: If you disagree with Priyanka then you’ll be yelled at and, most importantly you’ll also be doing grave injustice to her vision. But mostly, you’ll be yelled at.
We have never disagreed on anything. In Fact, there have always been discourses. Case in point the design for the grill for the master en-suites balcony for our Coimbatore home. We went back and forth with what would be the design language for the home and one fine day, on a video call from site, she saw the palm trees in the background (across the road) and that formed the starting point for the design of the grill—an abstraction of palm leaves stitched together to form a unique visual language.

HOB: Kolhapur. The House of Curiosities in Kolhapur is the living breathing example of how disagreements can lead to the most wholesome experience and even more spectacular artwork.

What misconceptions about designer collaborations would you like to address?
HOB: That it is a one-way street. That once the project is handed over to you with your scope of work, there’s a free hand. For collaborations, one has to be the most tenacious, especially for an art practice—for the designers themselves are magicians and mathematicians. We are only acting as facilitators to bring their vision to life with our own Stardust sprinkle.

What aspect of your collaborator’s approach do you find yourself unconsciously adopting in your solo work?
MuseLAB: Patterns, colours, forms and textures and the ability to restrain oneself.

HOB: Their attention and investment in a project to the most microscopic level that leaves no room for ambiguity. I admire that about the duo. As a storyteller sometimes I get carried away and am oblivious to the workings of the world. In our years of association, and I hate to admit it (and it’s a very strong word to use) but Jasem has been right more than once now.

Can you take us through the project you both worked on together?
MuseLAB: The Cosmic Disco was a fabricated space divider designed by Priyanka for our House of Curiosities in Kolhapur. Collaborating with her to create this installation had us steeped in a giddy love affair with design and possibilities! (She tends to do this to us) Aptly named by her as ‘The Cosmic Disco’, this installation doubles as a partition system that abandons its merely functional role! While it poses as a screening system within the open-plan heart of the home, it injects tangible, vivid imagery and movement into the space. The Shiva was inspired by the original artwork of Vijayakumar Arumugam. The intricate installation depicts a figment of our collective imagination, celebrating celestial beings immersed in a trance-like choreography. Divine, sumptuous, and an object of art we have loved from the get-go! Fun fact: She got a JCB! Yes, she did. And that’s how this beast was placed in position.

INSTANT INSIGHTS ft House of Berserk
Who’s more likely to bring a wild idea to the table? The idea is always MuseLAB’s. It gets wild once it is dropped in our lap.
Who’s the peacekeeper when opinions clash? When we are working together, I am the betaal to the Vikram that Museies are. Making sure there are no indifferences.
Coffee or tea during design discussions? Coffee with a pinch of pulling each other’s leg.
Sketching on paper or digital design? Museies may claim they never know what the end product is going to look like and I will maintain plausible deniability but always, to the scale digital design.

INSTANT INSIGHTS ft MuseLAB
Describe your collaboration in one word. Otherworldly.
Who’s the bigger perfectionist? We are both anal about our work and how it’s executed.
Morning meetings or late-night brainstorming sessions? Morning meetings (we shut shop by 5.30pm).
What’s the most surprising thing you learned about each other? She is a certified deep sea diver who is now also a certified deep sea diving tutor.
If you could choose another designer or artist to collaborate with, who would it be? Jaime Hayon