Five Questions: ISAC ELAM KAID

At Obakki, we always want to know more about the people behind our products. Human beings are many-faceted creatures and as much as you may know someone already, you can always dig a little deeper. These five questions do just that.

We caught up with one of our artisan partner's Isac Elam Kaid, in his studio. Isac creates high-design pieces that serve a purpose. But they are also clear examples of the classic Objet d’art. His visuals, his textures, and his balance all combine seamlessly to introduce emotions that are rarely awakened by day-to-day objects.

OBAKKI
What are you working on at the moment?

ISAC
A table for ceremony - An object for looking - A room for my thoughts.

OBAKKI
Have you always had such a clear understanding and connection between the natural world and your practice? Or was that something you arrived at over time, through your work?

ISAC
We come from and we go to. The natural world is our world. I understand more as I spend time in the primordial garden.

OBAKKI
How does your process start? Is it pen and paper or hands in the mud? And how do you know when a piece is finished?

ISAC
Both, and sometimes by sight: Recently I observed crop circles from the sky. That will become something.

OBAKKI
You seem conscious of the materials you use and the impact your work has on the environment around you. How does that show up in your process and in the materials you work with?

ISAC
The work is the material. Materials hold meaning and memory. It asks and answers. To overlook this implies you are creating prop and artifice.

OBAKKI
It seems that you are very intentional when curating your studio space. How do the items you keep around you inform your practice?

ISAC
Objects move around, come and go. The studio is a laboratory. The practice of releasing is as important as collecting, for clarity. Movement, not mausoleum.