{"id":144357,"date":"2019-12-10T13:39:05","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T18:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fourseasons.com\/magazine\/?p=144357"},"modified":"2019-12-10T14:18:15","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T19:18:15","slug":"envoy-hari-deepti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fourseasons.com\/magazine\/discover\/envoy-hari-deepti\/","title":{"rendered":"Envoy By Four Seasons
Presents
Hari and Deepti"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Hari <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Photography courtesy Muse Storytelling<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

Visual storytellers and Four Seasons Envoys Harikrishnan Panicker and Deepti Nair capture the wild beauty of the jungle-meets-sea region in an enchanting light box diorama.<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

Dioramas are often associated with grade school art projects. But Mumbai-based husband and wife Harikrishnan Panicker and Deepti Nair (collectively known as Hari & Deepti<\/a>) saw a way to elevate the craft\u2019s simplicity.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Hari <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Photography courtesy Hari & Deepti<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

Before they were artists, the pair were designers. Hari worked for brands such as MTV Networks India, and Deepti was an experience designer for a leading telecom company. Wanderlust took hold; they left their jobs and set out to find artistic inspiration around the globe. A great story has many layers, and paper, they found, was the perfect storytelling medium for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s playful, light, colourless and colourful,\u201d Hari says. \u201cIt\u2019s minimal and intricate. It reflects light, creates depth and illusions in a way that takes the artists and viewer through a journey with limitless possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each of their detailed, illuminated shadow boxes is a fairytale take on the natural world, concealing multiple storylines.<\/p>\n

Recently, Hari and Deepti spent three weeks exploring Costa Rica as part of the Envoy by Four Seasons<\/a>\u00a0program, which gives storytellers in a range of genres a chance to immerse themselves in a destination and create work in response. Paper and scissors at the ready, they navigated the jungles, mangroves, beaches and volcanoes of wildlife-rich Peninsula Papagayo.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n Check Rates & Availability <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \tSee all you can experience at Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo<\/nobr><\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO PAPER AS A MEDIUM?
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Showing <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Photography courtesy Muse Storytelling<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cPaper is brutal in its simplicity as a medium. It demands the attention of the artist while it provides the softness you need to mold it into something beautiful. I think we both appreciate that paper comes from nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople always question if our work is strong enough. Paper has been around for a very long time, and it will survive. Also, our work is about collaboration \u2013 how paper and light come together. Paper does justice to light.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Hari <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Photography courtesy Hari & Deepti<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cWe begin by sketching an image on multiple sheets, combining it into one complete image and deciding which us will carve each part of the image. Once everything is carved, we assemble the individual layers into a box backlit with LED strip lights to create the final installation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we travel, we do a lot of research into the destination\u2019s history and folklore as well as local life, and we try to capture all of that in our work.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Hari <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

MUCH OF YOUR WORK IS ROOTED IN NATURE RATHER THAN IN CITIES. WHY?<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably because we grew up in cities. We didn\u2019t have a relationship with nature growing up, so there\u2019s that yearning. Nature inspires us to create art. It makes us happy, and that\u2019s what we aspire to. Our work often revolves around the concept of a utopian world where man and nature are not in conflict \u2013 they live in harmony.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

WHAT WAS THE APPEAL OF ENVOY BY FOUR SEASONS?<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Property <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Photography (left) courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts,
(right) courtesy Shutterstock \/ PAUL ATKINSON<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201c<\/strong>The program gives you a glimpse into experiences that you normally don\u2019t get on a regular basis. It just gives you a different viewpoint. It\u2019s like a portal into different cultures. It\u2019s an invitation to be transported to another world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

HAD YOU BEEN TO COSTA RICA BEFORE? WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT THE DESTINATION?<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Living <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Photography courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cThis was our first time in Costa Rica. The country was like walking into a life-size version of our artworks. Every place we visited, like the mangroves and the caves, was coincidentally reminiscent of the world we have been creating through our art.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were impressed with how green it was and how everyone respects nature. It is quite sad that this is an alien concept in most parts of the world. In Costa Rica, it\u2019s a part of the daily life and culture of the people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe greeting of pura vida<\/em> is reflective of what most locals believe in, and it\u2019s clearly visible with more than half of the land being forests. That says a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF FOUR SEASONS RESORT COSTA RICA AT PENINSULA PAPAGAYO?<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Property <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Photography (left) courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts,
(right) courtesy Hari & Deepti<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cWe were very impressed with the 1,400 acres of wilderness around us and how the property is nestled in the forest in perfect harmony with nature. Upon arrival, we were greeted by two deer at the entrance of the property, and we eventually decided to include them in the final artwork we created.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

YOU HAD A COCKTAIL TASTING ROOTED IN LOCAL FOLKLORE. MIXOLOGY, LIKE YOUR WORK, CAN BE A FORM OF STORYTELLING. WHAT DID YOU LEARN?<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Bartender <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Photography courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cKaren Arceyuth, the head mixologist, was born in Costa Rica. She created a drink for us called Costa Rican Treasure. We were impressed with the story behind the drink and how she managed to translate that into an experience involving the sense of smell, sight and taste to invoke memories. The cocktail was made from rum, homemade vanilla and coffee syrups, cacao and Quassia amara<\/em> bark, and was smoked with cinnamon wood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea was that the ingredients \u2013 coffee, cacao and sugar cane \u2013 are the principal ingredients used to produce Costa Rica\u2019s Centenario Real rum. We learned that cacao is a sacred fruit for the indigenous Bribri people in the south of Costa Rica. And the cinnamon was meant to evoke zafra<\/em>, the harvest of sugar cane.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Fs <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

WAS THERE A PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE THAT INFLUENCED YOUR FINAL WORK?<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \"Inspiration <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

\u201cThe wilderness really spoke to us and inspired us to create our final work, titled World Within a World<\/em>. We were amazed at the scale of the mangroves and how mysterious they were. We have always been fascinated with old trees and their root systems \u2013 to us they resemble the web of life. We felt a sense of calm paddling deep into the tributaries engulfed by the jungle canopy and all of the wildlife. The mangroves seemed like a world within a world, a sacred place, and we tried to capture this feeling in our art, recreating the mirrored stream, the reflection of the mangroves and the roots through the clear water.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day we took a private helicopter flight over the Pacific coastline, revealing a bird\u2019s-eye view of the massive mangrove canal system. We really enjoyed seeing the different perspective. We could see through the water to the roots, and we took this inspiration and translated it in our final work.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

Your Journey Begins Here<\/h2>\n

What natural wonders will you find in Peninsula Papagayo?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\"\" <\/picture>\n

\n
\n
\n