MOLDING BEAUTY X MISHA JAPANWALA

My work is rooted in the rejection and deconstruction of shame attached to one’s body, and the discussion of themes such as bodily autonomy, moral policing, sexuality and censorship. The core of my artistic practice involves molding people’s bodies as a form of documentation and sculptural wear. My art is an insistence on marginalized people occupying physical space, emphasizing the notion that our bodies shouldn’t need to prove anything other than being allowed to simply exist. 

It’s something that I have loved and turned to for as long as I can remember. I used to draw and paint all the time when I was a kid, and still have numerous sketchbooks filled with (some really hilarious) fashion illustrations. Growing up in Karachi meant that there was art and design around every corner, and inspiration all around me. Going to the markets with my mom and designing my own clothes is something I’ve been doing my whole life, and I’m so grateful that my parents supported my decision to turn my love for art and fashion into a career. 

My creative process is often pretty chaotic and not linear at all. Sometimes an idea can come from an urgent and visceral reaction I have to something, other times it comes from concepts that have been brewing in my mind for years. But whether I’m working on paper doing calligraphy or making sculptural work, I’m always thinking about the relationship between our bodies and shame.  My signature style developed when I was in my last year at fashion school while working on my thesis collection. I was feeling a sense of urgency and desire to uproot the shame I was carrying within my own body. I was also tired of not seeing honest depictions of the body in art and fashion imagery. I stumbled upon the medium of molding and casting, and it felt like the perfect way to communicate everything I was feeling, by creating documentation of my body in explicit detail and without any alteration. I went to the sculpting store and bought a bucket of silicone, and haven’t looked back since!

The greatest influences in my work are the shameless people who I have the honour of molding for my pieces! I began my journey by molding and casting my own body, but for the last couple years my practice has centered on the documentation of other people; I’m fascinated by the varied relationships people have to shamelessness and the idea of building an archive of people and their rejection of shame through their bodies. I am constantly inspired by other Pakistani artists who are imagining new ways to document women and their bodies in their work: Scheherezade Junejo, Haya Zaidi, Sanie Bokhari, Hiba Schahbaz and Nadia Waheed are just a few of them!

Shame and the body are related topics of conversation that are so taboo and not discussed nearly enough. I think this is especially true in the context of being a woman and growing up in Pakistan. Being conditioned to see our bodies as inherently shameful is so incredibly dangerous. After I started molding and casting my own body, a lot of people were extremely angered by the fact that I, as a Pakistani woman, was creating such explicit and honest artwork about the body, and I was labeled a ‘beghairat’ (Urdu slur that means shameless person). Seeing that word constantly come up in relation to my art forced me to really contend with the idea of shame and shamelessness, and how the latter can be a tool for liberation, honesty, resistance and hope.

There are so many things broken in the fashion industry, but one of the biggest ways it can improve its relationship with the body is by rooting itself in honesty, especially when it comes to visuals and creating imagery. Also by moving away from singular trends/imagery that perpetuate certain ideals that shame people and their bodies. 

Education means everything to me! Education is empowerment, and should be a right.

My personal style is definitely influenced by my work! I make a lot of my own accessories and love adding sculptural elements to my looks. Most importantly though, my work has forced me to confront my insecurities and to embrace my body, and that has had a huge impact on my style and the way I dress.

I LOVE everything in my Marcella Capsule! If I had to choose, it would be the Kelly Tote. The color is gorgeous, it’s so sculptural (which is one of the reasons I’m so drawn to it) and it creates these beautiful curves and folds depending on how you hold it. It reminds me a little of my most recent collection, Topographies. I also love a bag that’s practical, and this can fit so much!