WORK IN TRANSIT

FEATURING MR RAJ

HTTP://WWW.MR-RAJ.COM/

BEING IN TRANSIT through the year is all part of the job to Raj, as he moves between London and Singapore to establish his own brand. It was pretty easy to see the excitement on his face as he talked about the future of Works by Raj; clearly his passion is equal to his art of choice: illustration and design.

On home ground, Raj delved into illustration alongside his schoolwork, using experience to form the foundation of his skills. Doing both was a challenge to him, but one that he preferred than just sitting in a classroom. “I was that cool” he muses. It was a gambit that paid off- bringing Raj to win the Crowbar Award for Advertising/Illustration. 

Raj is ready to move his business ideas and illustrations overseas, but he has definitely paid homage to the place he was born in. His font work ‘Hevea’ is an exploration of the little known history of Woodlands and her topographical landscape. The ‘Hevea Brasiliensis’ tree the font is christened after is a common species in Woodlands, Raj’s place of residence. Its latinate name meaning ‘wood’ inspired the font’s unique appearance. 

When picking his favourite illustrators, he gravitates to the place he began establishing his passion- deviantART. As a teen, Raj realised that these individuals took time to perfect their craft through practice and put themselves out there to find clients. In the same vein, Raj took up regular design projects outside of LASALLE- earning him sleepless nights, but a hands-on approach that he proudly works by.

I WANT MY AUDIENCE TO SEE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.

A piece can have multiple intentions, but Raj brings up the notion that the artists’ voice and intention is paramount. He intends to bring his individuality into the pieces he does, taking the opportunity to do so in experimental works as well. 

Raj has put this into his work entitled ‘Everlasting Stories’, which took four months to research and perfect. In it, he explored his curiosity towards mystical stories and their origins. “What made me do it was that I respected it, I was attracted to it.” The timelessness of their stories is encapsulated into simple write-ups, with the illustration doing much of the talking.  

Raj feels the most comfortable when engaging in works that push beyond what he’s already done. Venturing into anything possible is a must to identify new ideas to play and experiment with. This pursuit sees him travelling beyond what he knows to look for new mediums and methods to engage with. The heart of his work is slowly moving towards business and illustration, whose future lies in London. 

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