‘My average screen time is seven hours’: Visual artist Viraj Khanna on digital dependence and its influence on art

Coming from a lineage of creative excellence, Viraj has forged his own path as a multi-disciplinary artist, transitioning from the business side of fashion.

His journey began as a spontaneous creative exercise during the pandemic and has since evolved into a profound exploration of identity, societal behaviours, and the interplay between tradition and innovation.

In an exclusive interview with indianexpress.com, Viraj opened up about his “accidental” artistic journey, his experiences growing up in a creatively charged environment, and his reflections on how contemporary life influences his work.

Edited excerpts below: 

Q. You transitioned from the business side of fashion to pursuing art during the pandemic. How did this shift happen?

Viraj Khanna: During lockdown, we needed content for our fashion Instagram page. When my twin turned down my request to make a few collages, I decided to give it a shot. I started cutting up magazines and other books on my terrace, and posted some of it on Instagram. It caught the attention of gallerist Somak Mitra from Art Exposure and invited me for a meeting. During the meeting, he asked me to do a show, and even decided on a venue and time. I took it up as a challenge, and that’s how my journey as an artist began.

Q. Has your mother’s design philosophy influenced your approach to art, especially in your exploration of textiles and layered compositions?

 

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Viraj Khanna: Absolutely. Growing up around textiles, I absorbed a lot unknowingly. After graduating from University of Southern California in 2018, I joined the family business to look after finance and embroidery. I would price different embroidery samples based on quality and technique. This taught me a lot about embroidery. My practice as an artist now has developed from this. I am taking everything that I learnt while doing this to tell my own stories.

Q. How did your upbringing in a creatively charged environment shape your perspective on art and storytelling?

Viraj Khanna: The embroidery I have seen in our clothing has played the most important role in my practice. The balance of colour, the mix of materials, and the technical quality of the embroidery in our clothing have helped me understand or develop a certain aesthetic. My practice, which is for a different purpose, utilises all these visuals. Even now, whenever I see something interesting or new in our culture, I think about the different ways in which I could use all of it. So, there is constant extraction in different ways. Recently, I have started working with material not traditionally used in fashion. Maybe there will be a reverse migration.

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Q. You’ve explored various mediums, from collages to sculptures. What challenges have you faced while transitioning between these? How has your artistic voice evolved?

Viraj Khanna: Each new medium comes with its own set of difficulties. There’s constant self-doubt, honestly. “Is this good enough?” “Am I wasting time?” are some thoughts I battle all the time, but that’s part of being an artist. It requires a lot of patience and courage. My technical expertise lies in textiles, but art, like life, is always a work in progress.

Q. Your exhibitions often critique social media’s impact. What inspired this theme?

 

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Viraj Khanna: Brain Rot reflects how I navigate social media. One piece featured a wall of fiberglass mobile phones to comment on screen addiction. My sculptures capture people glued to TVs or taking Instagram-perfect photos. The logomania was influenced by our constant need to be seen in a certain way. Our lives are curated for social media, and what we see there isn’t reality––we see just one side of people’s lives. Social media amplifies comparison, making happiness more elusive. Earlier, we compared ourselves within small circles; now, we’re competing with the whole world.

Q. Imperfection is a key element in your work. How do you balance the idea of beauty with intentional flaws in your sculptures and collages?

Viraj Khanna: I wouldn’t call them intentional flaws, and honestly, I don’t see them as flaws. Everything is beautiful in its own way. If you look for imperfections, you’ll always find them. I leave stains in my paintings, embracing them as part of the process. As an avid art collector, I used to obsess over tiny marks in artwork; now, it doesn’t matter, and I can enjoy the collections so much more. Otherwise, there was always something to be worried about!! This can be true for so many things in life.

Q. Brain Rot critiques constant digital engagement. How does this impact creativity?

Viraj Khanna, visual artist, and Sanjana Shah, creative director of Tao Art Gallery, at the exhibit ‘BRAIN ROT: The Life You Live?’ (PR Handout)

Viraj Khanna: While I am speaking about brain rot and commenting on-screen times, I must say that my average screen time is seven hours, which I find very absurd. I’ve tried quitting but always return due to the nature of my work. Now, the whole world is within reach and there is a lot more comparison. There are also so many low-quality memes that we constantly engage with. Social media apps are designed to hook us—dopamine hits from notifications keep us engaged. We rarely experience boredom anymore, but boredom is essential for creativity.

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Q. What message do you hope the viewers take away regarding their relationship with technology and social media?

Viraj Khanna: I haven’t been able to do much about it personally, but I always recommend this book to people––Digital Minimalism. It talks about the effects of social media on people and what we can do about it.

Q. Looking ahead, what themes or ideas are you eager to explore? Any aspirations to merge fashion, art, and storytelling?

Viraj Khanna: Everything happens organically. Lately, I’ve worked with materials not used in clothing, which might influence fashion in reverse. My art already appears in prints and embroidery patches already. I’m currently exploring how social media shapes us. Richard Prince did something very interesting in 2014 when he took screenshots of people’s posts on Instagram and then added his comments on them and printed them on canvas. It was a commentary on how people interact. I find this whole space fascinating, and it is constantly evolving. My recent work also talks about Instagram, but more about how it affects us personally.