Blurring the line between art and fashion

Razia Kunj digs into India’s goldmine of indigenous crafts and comes up trumps

Her creations are not just artifacts but ‘wearable art’ as a matter of fact. And she recently unwrapped this exquisite stock at her debut exhibition in Mumbai’s The Easel (Juhu). Multitalented Razia Kunj’s solo showcase is a revelation in itself. Titled Art and Facts, her maiden collection of hand-crafted and hand-painted jewellery is indeed a treat to watch. From colourful neckpieces to earrings to finger-rings to bangles and what have you — her exclusive decorative line carefully clubs aesthetics with ornaments to adorn bodies with beauty. Thus by blurring the oft-discussed gulf between art and fashion, she neatly shrinks her canvas with an array of bespoke costume jewellery that is no less than a store of wonders. The products can be widely purchased and conveniently worn to enhance party-garments as well as socio-cultural outfits.

When enquired what prompted her to conjure up this unique merge of art with jewellery, she explains: “Actually as an artiste, I see art around all the time and as a person, I endlessly seek to trace our cultural roots by picking up varied art forms scattered around us. Be it jewellery, painting, fashion or anything else, this country is a goldmine of diverse indigenous crafts to dig into. Keep delving deeper and I bet you’ll be astonished with your own discovery! In my scope of work, I consciously try and print a miniature picture of a larger portrait. Since the surface is small, hence the composition is concisely presented, without excluding any significant sliver.”

Wood, beads, glitter, sequins, threads are the materials put to use in her artwork that is both ethnic yet unorthodox in nature. “There is no restriction as such. I include anything and everything that helps conveying my artistic essence and thoughts to my audiences,” she clearly affirms. The basic message is to add something extra onto the pieces she handcrafts with her blessed forte of imagination, patience, perseverance and a sharp vision. Dipped in a mixed palette, the medium is drawn from acrylic paints.

It’s true that at the moment, she is solely busy lending finishing touches to women’s jewellery, but men may take heart too — on her creative radar is a row of unconventional-looking bracelets to deck up their hands. Gradually, the collection will expand to elaborate. That’s part of her future plan for sure, she confirms.

Dwelling on the technique, she amplifies: “I start off with a ground-level researchwork. And then in the next step, I do a lot of scribbling, drawing and work on the computer to do my outlines. Once the sketches are finalised, I make the prototype. After attaining satisfactory perfection, I actually commence making the trinkets. I prefer to hang around and experiment with the stuff and substances I think would ideally embellish my pieces in the most justified manner. The process is time-consuming and you need to warm up before attacking and going the whole hog.”

Always fascinated by Indian art and architecture, Razia’s intention is to pluck art out of the walls of galleries and temples, from the pages of Indian folklore, from dance-forms and tribal arts, from the forgotten nooks and crannies of rural India and hand it down to women as a form of adornment. So an image of Lord Krishna playing a bansuri can be seen right under your ears as an earring, while the doors of a haveli open to the world outside in the form of a necklace. Thus every single item of her Art and Facts collection is an attempt to offer a personal expression for all its women clients through the art-route of India.

Razia maintains that wearable art will continue to be her primary obsession but at the same time, she would explore and experiment with more graphic forms. From recycling to conservation to pop art, Razia has a slew of ideas, each of which will form an individual series. When probed if other themes also inspire her art apart from mythology and pop art, she immediately chips in: “Anything under the sky. It could be architecture, dance-forms, folklore, I mean whatever I chance upon or whatever comes across my eyes and appeals to my senses, I grab them into my fold, especially all three-dimensional objects stray into my creative-frame as a fodder for my craft.”

Not inclined to mass manufacturing, Razia’s jewellery lines have predictably limited pieces, each of which is painstakingly designed, hand-painted and crafted by herself and her team of skilled artisans. Regarding retailing her creations, she declares to sell her inventory “online and via the social media (e.g. Facebook). I am also planning to get my website done soon.” “Besides, I intend to see my valuable knick-knacks gracing the racks of premium stores that match with my personality and I wish to be on the same page with the brands’ principles too,” she adds ahead. Flaunting jewellery is no modern-day fad but an age-old fashion. Coming in a mixed range of affordable and expensive rates, the prices shoot from Rs 4,000 upwards.

In the context of a general awakening towards the craft of making fashion jewellery or fake jewellery as a fine art, Razia observes that India has woken up in a big way to this booming sector. “There’s a lot of awareness growing in terms of projecting it as art and accepting it in the right spirit. See right now, jewellery is no longer considered to be made out of pure precious stones which are meant for keepsake and preserved as collectible assets only. People have rather gone beyond the border of traditions to buy something avant-garde, out of the ordinary and exotically artistic. So the options are many and the vista of accessorising is vast,” she elucidates.

A graduate in applied arts, Razia has also worked as an art-director and illustrator in numerous advertising agencies in Mumbai, thereby creating award-winning campaigns for leading Indian brands. After making a mark in the world of logos and graphic designs, she started her own advertising agency called Thought Blurb alongwith her husband Vinod Kunj.

What started as a two-people creative boutique shop in 2007 is now transformed into an award-winning agency spanning across three cities namely Mumbai, Delhi and Kochi. With an exposure in the ad-world, she talks about how that experience has enriched her art. “Quite a lot in fact,” she admits. “Since the time I remember that is, from a formative age, illustrations, paintings and colours have been a dear passion of mine. And from the day I entered the vibrant ad-arena, I ceaselessly kept working on brands, designing logos and packaging them.

So that involves a lot of creative brainstorming and ideating other than assessing the marketing dynamics at large,” she inputs. Deeply influenced by the magnificence and intricacies of behemoth structures around the globe, the artiste has conspicuously turned her antenna of attention towards designing contemporary fashion, its feel and look, quite visibly away from the world of corporate identity signs, leading food brands and advertising campaigns. And her first foray in this outing has been a jewellery line that redefines the old art of personal ornamentation. Art therefore conclusively finds a concrete, permanent place in her awesome oeuvre with a quality of superlative excellence.