Artist Misha Japanwala preserves what we are told to be ashamed of
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She calls her work a love letter to Karachi and the people who have given her the courage to be as shameless as she can be.
Pakistani artist and designer Misha Japanwala described herself not as a sculptor, but as a documentor — creating an archive of both life and loss — in a recent interview with CBS News.
“My practice is documenting people and their bodies,” she said, as she walked CBS News’ Elaine Quijano through her exhibited works at the Hannah Traore Gallery in New York City.
Born and raised in Karachi, Japanwala made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2021. Her signature breastplates and human-form sculptures draw from Pakistan’s social issues, serving as social commentary as much as they reflect her own evolving aesthetic.
Her moulds have been worn by a number of artists, including Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o, and rapper Cardi B, both in her music video for ‘Rumours’ and photographs that announced her pregnancy in June. She was also featured in a special issue of V Magazine guest-edited by model Gigi Hadid.
She moved to the United States to pursue fashion, but found herself captivated “not with clothes, but the bodies that wear them”. Today, she works from her home studio in New Jersey, inviting subjects to have their bodies moulded.
Reflecting on her journey, she told the channel with a sparkle in her eyes, “Instead of feeling like I had to conform my body to fit a certain garment, I was creating a garment out of my body itself.”
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