Gandaberunda

Indian Peacock-Inspired Headpiece

As part of our first year headpiece-making module, we were to be split into groups and each given a country from which we were to research a piece of music which would then inspire the designs of our individual headpieces. Being a part of the India group, we came upon the island of Majuli, a river island in the northeast of the country. This island is known for a yearly festival that takes place from the 21st to the 24th of November.  Along with traditional dance performances, it is also a festival where mask-wearing is common, depicting animals that are native or symbolic to India. With this information, we each within the group took an animal to base our headpiece designs off of. As you can see, I took the peacock, India's national bird. 

Along with researching the festival of the Island of Majuli, we also took it upon ourselves to research the Hindu religion, with its many gods and mythical creatures, as the main religion of India.  from this, I came upon the mythical creature called a Gandaberunda. This is a two-headed peacock of immense strength, and is known as a manifestation of Lord Vishnu. It is often depicted with a snake in its beak, symbolizing its power to overcome even the most dangerous creatures.

The Process

Now that I had my initial research done, it was time to start designing. I was initially stuck for how to incorporate the two-headed peacock, but after a fellow student turned an image of the peacock upside down, I realised what I could do. I then made two prototypes, one smaller version made from paper, and the second being a life-size version from cardboard. 

The final product is made from an old cycling helmet as the base, papermacheed completely with black paper. Then I stuck wires out of the gap in the helmet as the base for each circular structure protruding from the bottom. To secure these wires, I papermacheed them onto the helmet from the interior. I wrapped these wires in wool and then painted it a dark green to match the aesthetic of a peacock. Next, I cut out cardboard circles for the bottom of the design, completely enveloping the bottom of the helmet. I also painted these two shades of green. I stuck these on using a hot glue gun. I then made a clay mould of the two-headed peacock in the front of the helmet, and then did some more papermache to make it light. I also cut the top teardrop shapes out of cardboard and painted them as well, before hotgluing them onto the tops of the wires. Finally, I attached the circular wires by wrapping the thread going around the other wires around them where they met. 

I also needed a handheld prop for this project. I simply painted an old fan with some leftover green paint to match the colour scheme of the headpiece. I also added smaller light blue wires to hang from the front of the headpiece, over the face.

Process Gallery

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