Kanishka Raja

Sometime last year , I found a lone image of a painting by the New York based Kanishka Raja, floating about the web and saved it in the hopes of finding out more about him. He was virtually untrackable. 

Fortunately for me (and perhaps him), he has his own website now . Even more heartening, is the news that Raja is in the midst of his very first solo exhibition in India. In his latest multidisciplinary offering , I Have Seen the Enemy and it is Eye, Raja offers a visually contradictory world that narrates the complexities of inhabiting a globally interconnected world. His paintings fill me with a sort of Munchian panic magnified by it's militarised confines and yet cushion the alienation with the familarity of pink couches and shopping malls. 

The exhibition is on till the 12th of March  at Galerie Mirchandani+Stienruecke.

Kali Arulpragasam

London based jewelry designer Kali Arulpragasm has released her new collection titled Hunger , designed to help raise awareness on the global food crisis. This collection follows the socio-political themed Tourism , she debuted last year. 

The heavily embellished neckpieces and breastplates are fashioned from beads created using molds made from everyday , staple grains. It's an interesting juxtapositioning of concept/execution . An issue addressing poverty expressed via decorative objects made from precious metals may seem a little excessive , even ironic but I think the message is clear and powerful. 7% of all profits will be donated to Oxfam. 

Do check out her Look book at Superfertile , absolutely stunning stuff. 

Girinath Gopinath

Bangalore based accessory designer Girinath's maze of illustrations are pretty fascinating to observe. They're little inked worlds within themselves. He thinks of his work as a metaphor for the world and it's own creation. In his words, "Beautifying the mistakes is the key idea. Where everything starts with a big spill , which was never meant to happen, creating a universe, which no one would have otherwise discovered". I agree. More spectacular worlds at his blog. 

Designwallas

Noticed these gorgeous notebooks by Designwallas on my routine trip for book hoarding. I was quite tempted to pick up a few for their luxurious sleeves but they had no unruled notebooks in stock !  Probably a good thing too , considering the giant stack of unused "pretty" notebooks in my room. Check out more of this stylish stationary at their website.