Marriage in India is a public affair. The big, fat Indian wedding has become a global phenomenon. From extravagant destinations to grandiose clothing, the Indian wedding represents a deeper shift in a sense of aspiration and desire.
For young artist Viraj Khanna, the Indian wedding is the perfect grounds to explore the themes he finds most interesting: excess, consumerism, and the public versions of ourselves we post in an Instagram-friendly era. Through traditional textile embroidery techniques–particularly ari and zardozi methods–Viraj presents a loving, gently satirical look at the madness and delirium that surrounds the big Indian wedding.
Drawing on his own family legacy in the fashion industry and working collaboratively with traditional artisans, Viraj transforms methods of luxury apparel making into a powerful mode of artistic expression. Taking a unit of export and fashion–embroidery–Viraj locates an effective mode of storytelling. Recreating scenes from his own life on the wedding circuit and presenting them in vibrant embroidery, Viraj uses traditional bead and threadwork to present a language for the loss of self in a world of mega-consumption. Viraj emerges not only as a top chronicler of Indian consumer culture, but also takes on a global fascination with Indian weddings and brings it into an elevated space of fine arts.
Viraj Khanna is a two-time Forbes 30 Under 30 (the first artist to make both the India and Asia lists), and has emerged as one of India’s most celebrated young artists. In prominent collections, including the Susan and Michael Hort Collection, the Bunker ArtSpace, and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Viraj testifies to the changing face of Indian society, and the new forms of desire, aspiration, and loss of self that emerge in this context.
