About

Alaiia was born in India and attended boarding school in Scotland called Gordonstoun before earning her Bachelor’s Degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied Print Media, Ceramics, and Fibers. During her collegiate career she was invited to show her work at a series of exhibitions that led to her discovering her passion for art curation and cultural event production. In her work with the Gujral Foundation, an international philanthropic art and culture organization founded by Mohit and Feroze Gujral, she has directed multiple national and international projects including installations in the Venice Biennale and London Design Biennale. Gujral joined Canvas Chicago in 2017 and established herself as the Creative Director of several projects including, Sub Chroma, Voyager, Activate - Loop Alliance, and more. She also collaborated on project for companies such as Red Bull, Rolling Stone Magazine, Effen Vodka, Stolen Rum.  

The granddaughter of world renown artist Satish Gujral, niece of benevolent Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, and daughter to parents lauded for their ongoing support and development of the arts worldwide, through her upbringing, Alaiia has always been immersed in the passionate pursuit of art and culture.   

Through a combination of her passion for human expression, inherent talent, and tenacious work ethic, Alaiia has set herself on a trajectory that continues to grow her influence as a Creative Director, Producer, and Artist while remaining focused on creating a positive and profound impact on the the ongoing development of Modern Culture.

Artist statement

My family has a 200 year old Portuguese house in Goa that is bright Indigo blue colour. This was the original colour and has been kept so through time. My initial interest in indigo was spurred by me watching the house being painted post monsoon every year. This traditional way of painting houses with natural Indigo pigment, eggshells and glue was used not only in a decorative manner but also because Indigo has a cooling effect and is an insect repellent. The pigment creates a large spectrum of hues from a bright, vibrant blue when in sunlight and a dark, luminescent glow at night. Indigo pigment is a living, breathing colour that has completely enhanced all my senses and consumed my artistic life.

I am not only attracted to the physicality of Indigo dyeing but the emotional aspect of the process. Being able to witness the multiple levels of hues that can be produced by the change of light and the earthy smell that takes my back to the memory of my home in Goa, India. These emotional attachments further lead my desire to explore, enhance and create more work that is conceptually no longer about the colour (its history) or the physical connection but the emotional connection I have with Indigo. By accepting my emotional connection, my emotional process will reinforce my relationship with Indigo, making it less historical and more personal.

Along with the harvesting, the actual dyeing process requires a lot of patience and multiple dyes to receive a rich Indigo colour. Thyox is the chemical that is added to the natural indigo dye to extract the oxygen from the water, this produces a bright green colour. Once the object is reintroduced to air/oxygen it changes into indigo in a matter of seconds. This process becomes a game of time and patience because if oxygen is introduced while mixing or dyeing, the vat will turn indigo and further stops the paper or fabric from catching colour. The physicality of the process and chemical relation is what I am attracted to the most. I enjoy exploring and experimenting with the process of dyeing using different types of paper, wood, fabric and ceramic. These playful explorations were further translated into process based works while using the intensity of the colour and imagery. I want to explore the limits of dyeing and create textures that will further my creative interest with this incredible pigment. I feel this is important since one is working in a singular colour pallet and this exploration allows for an exaggerated engagement through other senses. This representation can take form through abstraction, making the colour the imagery itself. This investigation then allows me to translate my emotional obsession into a tactile/ sensual/ formal experience.  

Contact

@alaiiagujral

alaiiagujral@gmail.com