Redefining spaces

An alumnus of National Institute of Design,Ahmedabad,and a recipient of the prestigious Charles Wallace India Trust Arts Award (a British Council Arts grant),he dons many hats — that of a contemporary set designer,lighting designer and costume designer. It is his ability to overhaul spaces that has won him more acclaim. Fashion has had a long-standing affair with him — his first brush with fashion was an elaborate dome set for designer Rohit Bal in Mumbai in 1998,which he followed up with designing sets for consecutive seasons of what was then Lakme India Fashion Week. Over the years,creating larger-than-life sets for finale shows at fashion weeks has become his forte; ditto for lavish weddings and theatre productions.

“Earlier,I used to do the sets for more fashion shows but now I step in only for the big ones,” says Jayakrishnan,who is also working on the finale set for the upcoming edition of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW). He says that be it a wedding,a theatrical performance or a fashion show,a set designer is like an invisible actor. In case of fashion shows,it is imperative to weave in the designer’s vision as it’s his / her collection that is the star of the show. “This time around,Namrata (Joshipura) is showing a bright,peppy line at the LFW finale. As a set designer,it’s my job to ensure that this is highlighted well. Accordingly,the set will have huge pillars with LED strips installed inside them; plus,the roof will have an architectural grid with acrylic glow boxes. The overall lighting will keep changing to complement the clothing on display,” he explains.

Ask him which of the four — weddings,theatre,installations and fashion shows — pose a greater challenge and he can’t make up his mind. “I find them equally creatively satisfying. In fact,I don’t take on a project if I don’t find it interesting — that’s my topmost criterion,” says Jayakrishnan,who has created installations for the recent India Art Forum held in Delhi,apart from designing elaborate sets and costumes for Tim Supple’s play,A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2006),and recreating Benaras in Sri Lanka as the art director for Deepa Mehta’s film,Water (2005).

While he is in talks to create sets for theatrical productions,he is not kicked about signing on movies. “Films take up a lot of time and I can’t commit long periods to a project,” he says.

What matters most to him then is “making people’s dreams come true”. “In 2011,I was faced with the mammoth task of creating a palazzo in Venice for a wedding. Given that it’s an island city,logistics posed a big problem. But we ended up doing it just the way the couple wanted it to be — right down to the acrobats performing against an operatic backdrop,” he says.