Opening a window to his minimalistic world, Aman Khanna’s design studio Claymen is filled with objects that have their own story behind them. More a ‘visual storyteller’ than a sculptor, Aman Khanna’s series of figurines made from sun-dried clay truly belongs in living spaces of every person who has a ‘less is more’ mantra.
“Claymen objects simply are what they are: A celebration of a style that is at peace with its own little imperfections. Handmade and functional, the objects are built to be used. Some incarnate the dysfunctionality intrinsic to society by hinting at the fragility of the human condition in a more general sense. And I wanted the studio to reflect exactly that.” Aman Khanna tells Elle Décor.
Claymen, who’s base is in the Dhan Mill Compound, New Delhi, offers a range of sculptures that are easy to the eye and add aesthetic to your living space by literally just being their minimal self. The functional/dysfunctional objects are not just aesthetic and pleasing to the eyes but have a meaning behind them. Every object in its own way is a representation of Khanna’s feeling and observations in life. The objects are simply a celebration of a style that lives at peace with its own little imperfections. His ‘hand-to-mouth’ bowls are both functional, as well as representative of India’s large wealth gap. Combining aesthetic and design, the Dysfunctional objects, as Aman tells Homegrown, “Have no immediate use, but are not without a function.” The fragile material of ceramic aims to evoke a sense of empathy, and points to the fragility of the human condition in a larger sense.
As he describes them on various platforms, the Claymen figures come in peace and maintain silence. “Although going through their own existential crises at times they are mere spectators or observers to the notion that ‘man is losing his humanity and becoming a thing among the things he produces.'”
L i n e a 