Adulting can mean different things for different people. Some might be getting used to their hectic jobs, some might be going through a quarter-life crisis, and some might even be grieving for someone they lost. Sculptor Aman Khanna believes that addressing, and consequently, expressing these emotions is quite important, else, man is simply “losing his humanity and becoming a thing amongst the things he produces”. That's precisely why Khanna created Claymen—a series of figurines made from sundried clay that is half-baked in an open fire, sculpted with deliberate imperfections. More a ‘visual storyteller' than a sculptor, Khanna truly believes his Claymen belong in living spaces. “They come in peace and maintain silence," he says. These Claymen—famous from being stocked in stores like The Plant Society in Australia, Gallery Bensimon in Paris, Eighty Twenty in Balmain and more—have now set up base closer to home, in Dhan Mill Compound, New Delhi. AD gives you an exclusive tour of the studio.
Claymen,德里|自然,简单的内饰
The design studio-store remains easy-on-the-eye to let the Claymen speak for themselves. A white cuboid with large aluminium grid glass windows at the front and rear entrance becomes the shell that holds the Claymen within. An open courtyard at the back adds a natural touch to the space, and is also functional, as clay works are dried in this open area. The shape of this 2,100-square-foot plot helps accentuate depth, made broader by the height of the ceiling. "I like it when one can see the entire depth of space from one end to the other," says Khanna, who got technical and structural inputs from architect Saurabh Dakshini of Studio Organon, a dear friend.
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Claymen, Delhi | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Ninety percent of the components in the design studio-store have been reused from Claymen's previous exhibitions, and the old store at Hauz Khas Village. This includes the furniture and even the indoor plants. Khanna has refrained from straightening out the dents on the walls and ceiling, to retain a raw tonality in the space. “Negative space is important to me,” confides Khanna, and this becomes evident in the way his Claymen are arranged within the store. They're grouped according to their shape, size and colour with enough space between each, so that the pieces can breathe and are noticeable.
