Hormazd Narielwalla

Hormazd Narielwalla moved to Britain in the 2000s to study fashion design. He holds a PhD in Fine Art from the University of the Arts, London (2014).

He is best known for intricate paper collages and assemblages that repurpose vintage tailoring patterns into abstract compositions. His practice began in the workrooms of the Savile Row tailoring firm Dege & Skinner, where he discovered sets of bespoke suit patterns that had been discarded upon clients' deaths — the inspiration for his acclaimed 2008 artist's book Dead Man's Patterns. Viewing these utilitarian templates as beautiful abstractions of the human body, he overlays their delicate geometries with forms of his own to explore ideas of identity, memory, migration, and diaspora.

His work has been commissioned by the Crafts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and is held in collections including the British Library, the National Art Library, and Tate.