We’re all running. Toward something. Not really sure what, though. Maybe it’s the next thing, or the next big idea, or the next leap, thing that looks like success. But when was the last time we stopped? Took a breath and simply asked, “Where are we really going?” We’re speeding up, and so is technology. It has to. There’s no turning back. But do we know what it’s doing to us? Are we even noticing?
We’re all obsessed with moving forward. So obsessed, we don’t stop to think about the cost. And it’s not the money — that’s easy to calculate. It’s the human cost. The kind you can’t see, can’t measure. It’s like an invisible weight. We’re changing in ways we can’t even understand. But it’s happening.
This is where art comes in. Arzan Khambatta gets this. He knows art isn’t supposed to make you comfortable. It’s supposed to stop you. Make you think. Make you feel things you didn’t want to feel. His piece for ACETECH Mumbai 2025, created with Blum’s TANDEM runners — it’s not flashy. It’s not shouting. But it makes you feel like you have to stop. Like you can’t look away. Like you have to ask yourself, What are we really becoming?
Arzan started out as an architect. Drawing lines, thinking straight, building what people needed. But somewhere along the way, he felt it wasn’t enough. He needed something more meaningful. So, he turned to something he had been fascinated with since his younger days — and something most people call junk. Scraps. Wood, metal, things nobody wants. And he gave them life again. Made them something. He called them SCRAPTURES. They’re not perfect, not polished, not meant to look “right.” They’re raw. Messy. Real.
The Face of the Future, made with Blum’s TANDEM runners for ACESTREET at ACETECH Mumbai 2025, was not some sleek, glossy vision of tomorrow. It’s a face, yeah, but not really. It’s stuck in the present, caught between two places — between the past and the future. You look at it, and it doesn’t feel fully human. But it does. There’s something off, but something familiar too. It makes you feel that tension.
It doesn’t give you answers. It doesn’t promise anything. But it forces you to ask questions. Questions you may not want to ask. How’s technology affecting humans? What’s the cost of all of this? What are we really becoming? Because we don’t know. We’re caught up and too busy to realise. And sometimes, we need art to remind us of that.
Arzan talks about his work simply, but you can hear the depth. “For decades, I’ve used industrial materials to tell human stories,” he says. “With this piece, I wanted to take Blum’s TANDEM runners — these beautifully engineered, hidden fittings — and make them part of something bigger. The piece is a reminder of the paradox that is our reality today. We’re changing, along with technology, evolving but still searching for meaning. The impossible just takes a little longer, but we’re getting there. Using Blum’s runners felt right to pose a question that matters today more than ever.”
Neelam Shah, Head of Marketing at Blum, shares her perspective: “At Blum, collaborating with architects and designers is part of our DNA,” she says. “But working with a creative genius like Arzan — there’s something uniquely special about it. There’s a deeper purpose behind what he does. He has this way of making you stop and truly reflect. That’s the power of art — it should move you, it should make you think. This collaboration gave us the chance to spark a bigger conversation. It asks us to take a serious look at the growing relationship between humans and technology. The message is poignant, more urgent than ever, yet so often goes unspoken. The response to this installation has been amazing, and we’re proud that our TANDEM runners were part of it.”
