A school of fish. Made from bamboo.

‘When moon rises, tidal waves will rise for liberating fishes to swim on higher plane’

Taking the aesthetic aspect of the moon and intertwining it with the scientific fact about the moon generating tidal waves, this installation metaphorically represents the creative process: when the moon rises, tidal waves will rise for liberating fishes to swim on a higher plane.

Keeping the spirit of Srishti, where tidal waves of creativity is celebrated as the confluence of artistic imagination with a scientific bend of mind in design, this bamboo installation — where an abstract moon along with a few floating fish will be suspended in the empty space between the buildings — will represent the twenty-five years of Srishti in art and design education.

Koi fishes are a symbol of good fortune and success through perseverance. In a pair they represent the duality of life and the balance of opposing life forces.

Keeping the symbolism and structure of koi fishes and the need to break the monotony of the rectilinear buildings around in mind, we conceptualised making an organic, delicate and unconfined sculpture with bamboo.

Our group consisted of 10 members and we collectively worked together to make our koi fish. The process involved understanding bamboo as a material — its flexibility, load-bearing capacity, and jointing techniques — before moving into full-scale construction.

We started with small-scale models and sketches to understand the fish form, then moved to bending and shaping bamboo strips into the organic curves of the koi body, fins, and tail. The structure had to be light enough to suspend between buildings while maintaining its sculptural integrity.

The bamboo strips were split, soaked, and bent into curved ribs that formed the skeleton of each koi fish. Thinner strips were woven between the ribs to create the translucent, lattice-like skin — letting light pass through and giving the sculpture a floating, ethereal quality at night when lit from within.

The final installation was hoisted by crane and suspended on cables between buildings, alongside other groups’ sculptures — jellyfish, a manta ray, and the abstract moon — creating an underwater world floating in the sky.

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The completed installation — koi fish, jellyfish, manta ray, and abstract moon — was suspended between campus buildings and lit at night, transforming the courtyard into an underwater dreamscape. The project was exhibited from 28 March to 1 April, drawing visitors from across the campus and beyond.

View the full project on Behance.