Renaissance Man JJ Valaya, on his second photography exhibition

JJ Valaya doesn’t believe in doing things small. For anyone who has followed his work as a fashion designer for close to three decades, this is no surprise, and yet it still is surprising to see his larger-than-life and steeped-in-luxury vision translated into photographs. On 1 December, Valaya opened his new photography show, ‘Lalaari: Conversations with the Universe’, in Delhi. Lalaari is the Punjabi word for dyer, as the show combines his passion for textiles along with his interest in photography.

He made his debut in 2011 with Decoded Paradox, a show that was inspired by royal portraiture and was set in Delhi. His second show was a stark contrast to the first, without any human element and inspired by architecture. For this third show, he has returned to his enduring theme of royalty. The photographs are staged portraits, steeped in Indian aesthetic, traditional and modern at the same time, each image is transfixing.
 

He met us at his office in Delhi, sitting in front of a huge painting of a Peshwa king, he looked every bit as royal as his subjects.

Photography seems to bring all your interests together. Is that why you keep exploring it?
I have a very close affinity with the decorative arts, I think of the Russian icons and our Tanjores, that’s a beautiful era which is disappearing. I wanted to do a modern spin on decorative art, and I ended up using all disciplines that I indulge in, textiles, my role as a furniture designer, my role as an embroiderer, and then of course with photography as the base. 
 

Why did you dress them in royal clothes?
I love all things royal and larger than life, and I really can’t put my finger on it. It comes from my past life perhaps. When I got into fashion, all I wanted to do was create clothes which are stunning and glorious, I just see everybody as royalty, I look at a person and start slotting that person into some avatar. I think to exist, you must think you’re royalty, that you’re exalted and that’s the metaphoric idea. After all, we’re in the business of psychology, we’re not in the business of fashion when we design clothes. We have to understand people and see if we can change the way they seem themselves, to me the clothes are the canvas and the person is the subject.
 

What’s next for you?
I took a sabbatical for some time. I was bored of what I was doing. I am now working on my most ambitious project, a new space in Delhi that will be called The World of Valaya, which will open next year. It will be the new benchmark of luxury in the country. It will have all three things I indulge in, fashion, luxury interiors, and my photography, all in one place.

The exhibition is on till December 15 at Stir Gallery, Chattarpur Farms, New Delhi