Kajal Ramrup
She/They
Hillsdale, New Jersey, USA
“Kajal Ramrup is a designer specializing in mixed media jewelry using resin, sterling silver, stainless steel, and freshwater pearl, combining organic and inorganic materials. Her work is sold at boutiques in Milan, New York, and Berlin. Her works focus on the intersection of identity, material, and contrast, especially focusing on the delicate contrast between nihilism and strength. With a background in Industrial and Interaction Design, she brings a nontraditional education to the world of wearable sculpture, implementing technical elements such as adaptive clasps, and interchangeable sizing. Through both her education and personal life, she strives to use each design as a physical vessel for the words of her unspoken mind.”
“Kajal Ramrup is the designer of Planet K, a physical manifestation of imagined maximalism. She focuses on tension, contrast, and material to create visually striking pieces that combat society's trends, encouraging rebellion and unapologetic individuality inspired by the unbreakable spirit of marginalized people. Each piece pulls from different aesthetics to create a piece that evokes a harmony of haunting beauty that fights against complacency and minimalism. Every piece is one-of-one, allowing a strong, unique connection and experience for every individual.”
@planetkcreations
How does your work relate to the theme of restoration?
“My work relates to the theme restoration both physically and emotionally.
My worldview is nihilistic in nature and my work is a physical embodiment of what restoration looks like in this world. The forms are imperfect and distressed, they can be broken down, they are uniquely themselves and delicately existing, lost in a world that is racing towards the end. Being a person of several marginalized groups and suffering discrimination on the basis of these identities has left me feeling a deep sense of resentment and nihilism for society and the world itself. The challenges and trauma I have endured and pushed through has given me the both the scars and strength of both spite and pessimism. Every piece I produce is a result of my own restoration, through which I communicate my feelings of anger, frustration, pain, suffering and happiness in a format that transcends words. The inner turmoil I face everyday due to my identities, especially, my chronic health / disability, does not completely corrupt me because each of my designs act as elements of restoration for both my mind and my body.”
Concept Kajal Ramrup
How does your creative practice allow you to restore (renew, return, reclaim, recover)?
“My creative practice is built upon the idea that contrasting materials can be combined to create new forms. The contrast between value and material as well as the physical difference between materials is idea that I pull from. I often pair contrasting materials such as fine metals and stainless steel, resin and glass, found objects such as computer parts and high quality pearls, because of their difference in perceived value and appearance. These intersections allow me to restore the old, giving it both a new value and meaning with the fine metals and stones. I enjoy taking all of these materials because it challenges me continually think about my impact, considering the lifespan of my pieces both during and after my own lifetime. Even with materials such as resin or metal, I am always finding ways to incorporate scraps or discarded pieces into new designs. This not only forces me to hold myself accountable for my impact on the planet, but also think more creatively about the ways I use the materials I consider and choose for each design.”
As a queer+, artist, what do you see can be, needs to be, or cannot be restored?
“When thinking about restoration and what needs to be restored, I think there are several areas of society where restoration is not only beneficial, but essential. In our current western society, we have been plagued with a rise in anti-empathy and anti-intellectualism, both of which disproportionately harm BIPOC queer+ artists. The trend of “I’m too woke for…” and others are funny in small context, but on a larger scale they highlight a glaring problem: we as a society do not actively or actually care about helping our neighbors or communities, especially is the cost of the giving that help is inconvenience. We have become too conditioned to our convenient lives that the thought of fighting and pushing back against the norm is daunting to some, but nonexistent to many. Through the work of myself and every queer+ artist, we can restore the necessary desire to be in an active community and make small sacrifices for said community in the understanding that we will all grow stronger together.”
Photographs Courtesy of the Artist
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“I submitted two different concept sketches as way to show different interpretations of restoration, one leans into the physical aspect of restoration, while the other pieces leans into the emotional aspect of restoration. While they are two different pieces, I think they both contrast and compliment each other as a pair.”