This year, leading jewellery designer Kiran Aman commemorates nine years of her brand Kiran Fine Jewellery [KFJ]. To celebrate this, she revealed a photographic exhibition and launched the book ‘Kam Sukhan’ at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture on the 09th of March 2013.
With the ‘Kam Sukhan’ book launch and exhibition, Kiran Fine Jewellery celebrates nine years of adorning and embracing the essence of women in Pakistan through the extraordinary talents of nine photographers: Adeela Badshah, Farah Mahbub, Insiya Syed, Khaula Jamil, Lali Khalid, Mahwish Rizvi, Nazia Akram, Shalalae Jamil and Quratulain Khalid – almost all of whom were present at the launch event.
Defined by varied backgrounds and life experiences, through their work these nine photographic artists encapsulate all that KFJ seeks to celebrate; the delicacy that spins the fabric of a woman’s strength; her warmth, tenderness, pride and passion.
The launch was opened with an introduction to the evening by Tuba Arshad, Creative Manager at Markings where she invited on stage photographer and project head at KFJ, Adeela Badshah who spoke about the nine women photographers and their experience and efforts on working on ‘Kam Sukhan’. This was followed by an address from the guest of honour for the evening, award winning model and actress, the multi-faceted Aamina Sheikh, who spoke about the beauty of womanhood, a woman’s journey and how ‘Kam Sukhan’ encapsulates and celebrates this.
Also in attendance at the launch were fashion designers Feeha Jamshed, Nida Azwer, Misha Lakhani, Maheen Khan, Maheen Karim, Adnan Pardesy and Sadaf Malaterre; stylist Rukaiya Adamjee; photographers Amean J, Arif Mahmood, Fayyaz Ahmed, Kohi Marri and Tapu Javeri; TV personality Mahira Hafeez Khan and Saima Mohsin; Brands and External Communications Manager Unilever Pakistan Fareshteh Aslam; poet Faraz Maqsood Hamidi and key media personalities. Public Relations for the event was handled by Lotus.
On the launch of ‘Kam Sukhan’, publisher and jewellery designer Kiran Aman has said, “A woman’s soul carries her deepest glories. From her inhibitions, struggles, and fears, you’ll learn of patience, forbearance and resolve and in time you will find that her spirit, ever-undaunted, is a pearl made of steel. Indeed these nine years have been a celebration of women for me and my brand, and Kam Sukhan captures this essence of a woman and brings it forward tangibly through a book and photographic exhibition.”
Indeed Kiran Fine Jewellery encapsulates the woman of substance, who wears jewellery not simply to adorn but to reflect the essence within. At KFJ each piece of jewellery is crafted with the finest materials with a deliberate focus on gold, as the designer believes its strength, warmth and malleability is a veritable representation of the women for whom she designs.
Manifestations of this are found in the 2007 ‘Revived’ collection and the 2008 book ‘Revived The Journey Within’ by Kiran Fine Jewellery whose conceptual philosophy explored the four emotional states of a woman’s journey depicted through jewellery, featuring fourteen women from the fashion and design industry.
Excerpts from within ‘Kam Sukhan’ from the nine photographic artists on the essence of the KFJ Woman and their works inspiration, as captured through their lens:
• Adeela Badshah: A woman is many different things; sensual, compassionate, adaptable and above all, emotionally strong.
• Farah Mahbub: Here is a collection of a few words out of the many amassed over the years; mostly during the sublime encounters with my spiritual teacher. The power of the word lies not in understanding it’s meaning, but in the resonance of its inspiration deep within as one waits with patience and longing.
• Insiya Syed: A picture is worth a thousand words. And sometimes for every thousand stories there is a single word. One of those words is ‘mother’.
• Khaula Jamil: Every woman in my pictures has a story of love, dedication, inspiration and resilience.
• Lali Khalid: The wondrous aspects of a woman’s essence are what she carries forward through all that the world brings her.
• Mahwish Rizvi: This fantastical series is inspired by the philosophy of existentialism, focusing primarily on Jean-Paul Sartre’s theories.
• Nazia Akram: Despite living within perimeters prescribed by others, she manages to adapt and embody the environment she is part of. She is a little girl, cocooned in the safety of her home, seemingly just a part of the scenery yet in actuality, she is the force holding the entire family together. She blazes in the sky, bright and giving a part of the whole, yet so essential.
• Shalalae Jamil: A rumination on how the female body or face projects itself towards the camera, each image creates its own (potential) narrative.
• Quratulain Khalid: In trying to capture the essence of the Pakistani woman, my body of work is based on a series of self-portraits.
In addition to ‘Kam Sukhan’, Kiran Aman will also be introducing ‘NINE’ in 2013 – a book archiving and documenting 9 years of collections and custom-designed pieces as crafted by Kiran Fine Jewellery.
