Writer’s CV reads like a travel retrospective. Wander-lust is what he says takes him across the world for invited residencies, workshops and exhibitions. Adil is an architect with a Master’s degree in architecture from the University of Houston, Texas. He worked in Bombay as an architect before reaching Pondicherry to learn ceramics under the tutelage of Deborah Smith and Ray Meeker of Golden Bridge Pottery. Since 2000, he is a partner at Mandala Pottery in Auroville. Writer’s ceramics and large scale paintings have been showcased at several solo and group exhibitions in Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Australia, Estonia, France and USA. In 2013, Writer was instrumental in arranging a residency for a group of 18 Indian ceramists to Fuping that led to their making works for the proposed Museum of Contemporary Indian Ceramics in China. Later in 2014, he organised a residency for another group to Korea. One of his prominent solo exhibitions was “Shades of Grey” at Gaya Design Centre in Bali where he showcased anagama-fired ceramics and batik. Adil explains his inspiration…. “Balinese Hinduism tells us that there is not just good and bad in the world …not just black and white. There is a third median, the centre, the balance. These shades of grey were the focus of the collection.” At Clay-Edge in Gulgong and at Beehive in Canberra, Writer has built and fired largescale mud structures and fired-stacks, having learnt the “fired-house technology” from Ray Meeker of Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry. Besides being a part of numerous group exhibitions in India and abroad, Adil has also had solo shows in Shigaraki, Bali, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Goa and Auroville. At The Cube Gallery in Goa at two recent shows, Writer paid tribute to Goa’s legends, Mario Miranda and Manohar Sardesai with a series of sculptural ceramics inspired by their cartoons and poetry at a solo show, “Sentinels”, inspired by abandoned gateposts of Goa, Bombay and Colombo. At Shigaraki, one of the oldest kiln-sites in Japan, Adil culminated his three-month invited residency with a solo show titled “Himitsu Te Uso” His works from Shigaraki were later exhibited at Gallery Art & Soul, Bombay, at a show titled “Secrets & Lies”. He also featured in, “Six by Six: Interpreting Craft in Gondwana”, a path-breaking Indo-Australian show at the Australian Triennial in Canberra featuring three Indian and three Australian ceramists. This spirit of dialogue led to “In Collaboration” with Laxma Goud, at Pundole Art Gallery in Mumbai. “Working with an iconic figure like him, seeing him wield the needle tool on clay, has been indelible. He freed me of my inhibitions of drawing on my canvases and clay work!” A subsequent collaboration was with Pamanisamy, a respected traditional potter from Pudukotai, who is known for the large terracotta horses he makes. Writer worked with him in making large traditional pot forms with Tamil text on them, for an exhibition, Akshara, which has already toured in France, Egypt and India. This work is now a part of a show titled Symbols & Scripts, at the Indian Heritage Centre’s Museum in Singapore. Writer was invited to Singapore in April 2018 to present his work at this show which included live demonstrations, presentations and clay-demonstrations. Writer is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva. ADIL WRITER, Mandala Pottery, Dana, Auroville 605101, Tamil Nadu, India. Tel: +91 9443029539; +91 4132622724 (res); +91 4132622685 (pottery) www.adilwriter.com adil@auroville.org.in