444 | A collection of wearable art
Sayali’s collection interprets the world through energy and its transformation from thought to action, action to knowledge. The element-inspired art of this collection speaks a universal language through the visual manifestation of earthly and cosmic phenomena. It relays meaning through sacred geometry -- simple forms and lines that hold within them the meaning of life and cosmic truth. Art becomes a medium of interpreting the world, powerful enough to stir the consciousness.
Creation, in essence, takes place through the union of the purusha (masculine energy) and prakriti (feminine energy) that reside within us and define our consciousness. Human creativity is a quest for the harmonious blend of both, as balance drives both earthly and cosmic phenomena and creates unity. Sayali’s tryst with art in this manner is primeval and symbolic and fundamental. Its universal visual grammar allows it to be translated and adapted to contemporary forms of expression. Through this collection, the artist relays her conceptual art onto the potent surface of textile fabric, which not only expands the visual idiom but also the way in which we, as an audience, can engage with it.
At its heart, Sayali’s work is rooted in her personal journey and her unique outlook towards life. Inspired largely by the Tantra school of thought, she infuses her visual language with abstraction but which carry a deeply emotive quality. Sayali takes a conceptual approach to art, interacting strongly with the metaphysical world where boundaries collapse and dualities merge. She is driven by ‘energy’or ‘prana’, the essence of life itself. Colours dominate her artistic expressions as much as geometric abstraction; united with her elemental vision of the world, her work celebrates the simplicity inherent in life itself.
The 444 collection comprises hand block printed pieces that bring the abstract world of geometrical patterns onto material surfaces beyond the artist’s canvas. This collection aspires to make art wearable, by translating the unique vision of the artist into a piece of cloth that will have an intimate connection with the person wearing it.
Sayali draws her motifs and visual imagination from the elemental art of the Tantra school of thought. She broadens the vocabulary of traditional block printing through a set of original, research-based expressions that are juxtapose and layer geometric shapes and lines. Sayali design framework is interpretive - it is personalised through her philosophy and outlook on things. She creates for joy and emotes through her integrated colour palette that evoke a balance of mystic mood and sublime thought. Art, according to her, is possible “when there is a balance of energies”, and this sense of rhythm and rhyme is very prominent in her design. Above all, it is intuitive.
The collection comprises select pieces of scarves with simple compositions and colour blocks that come together organically on the surface of the fabric. In her words, “I want to make sense of colours, compositions, tools, and forms; and how they relate to identity and representation”. Her work resonates with a spontaneous influx of ideas that conspire in an almost accidental manner - there is nothing premeditated about it.
The pieces in this collection carry this fluid aesthetic meant to cater to individuals across culture, age, and gender identity. The idea behind the collection is to translate Sayali’s affair with form and pattern into a new medium of expression. Clothes are personal and carry the smells and body memories of the one wearing them. In that way, clothes are an evolving landscape in themselves. Rather than being strictly ‘fashion accessories’, Sayali envisions her collection as wearable art; something to preserve, something to add to our personal museums, and something that creates material memory.
“My works are informed by everyday India. Culture is not static. We create layers and continue to evolve and create meaning.”
