Asif Khan

Archive

  1. Cartier, V&A London

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    Cartier, which opened at V&A South Kensington on 12 April 2025, marks the UK!s first major exhibition dedicated to the Maison in nearly 30 years. Designed by British designer and artist Asif Khan MBE, the exhibition features over 350 historical objects—including royal tiaras, priceless jewels, archival drawings, and iconic timepieces—set within a series of immersive, contemplative environments. Khan!s scenography employs light, sound, and spatial rhythm to cultivate a
    reflective atmosphere that encourages emotional resonance and a deeper sensory connection with the objects on display. The project marks the latest in a series of landmark collaborations between Cartier and artists around the world, continuing the Maison!s long-standing tradition of working closely with visionaries to explore the meaning and experience of its heritage. For Khan, the project was about creating “a state of mind in which the objects could be felt as much as seen.”

    His approach was shaped by a personal interest in sacred spaces—their light, form, scale, and stillness. “I wanted to create a series of spaces that gently shift the pace of the visitor,” he explains, “so that by the time they have made their first steps into the exhibition, they!ve entered a quieter state—more open to sensing time, memory and meaning in the pieces.”

    As visitors move through the exhibition, they pass through a sequence of carefully orchestrated environments—each offering a subtle shift in atmosphere. One opens to a forest scene at dawn, offering space to pause and reflect. Another evokes a reimagined cosmos in the form of an orrery around the Manchester Tiara illuminated by candlelight. A gently curving wall is punctuated by coloured light filtering through niches, casting soft pools across the floor. Within each niche is a jewel that traces Cartier!s long history of interaction with royalty, from the British crown to the Maharajas of India. A spectrum of colour moves across the space—from the twilight of Windsor to the warm dusk of Delhi. The atmosphere is held in suspension by Saans Lo (“Breathe”), an ambient instrumental composition by Arooj Aftab that invites stillness, contemplation and the quiet presence of forgotten voices. A circular hall recalls the memory of a grand gathering of tiaras at a ball, shimmering in time with the gentle andante of Shostakovich!s Piano Concerto No. 2.

    At the centre of the exhibition, a 40-metre panoramic window frames drifting clouds. Over 140 Cartier objects and archival drawings appear within this atmospheric field which crosses the world and time—like recollections suspended in mist. The soundscape here was composed by Khan using field recordings captured by a test pilot from within the clouds themselves.

    Elsewhere, the ticking of a Cartier watch mechanism—recorded by Khan and slowed to match the rhythm of a sleeping human heart—encourages a deeper awareness of time!s passage. Near the exhibition!s close, a single tiara appears to hover in a cloud of water vapour, evoking the Sufi concept of hīch, or “nothingness.” This ephemeral moment offers a space beyond material form: a brief encounter with absence, stillness, and presence.

  9. The London Museum

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    Stanton Williams and Asif Khan to design new Museum of London at West Smithfield

    Stanton Williams and Asif Khan along with conservation architect Julian Harrap are working together on the new Museum of London.

    An outstanding example of London creativity, Stanton Williams and Asif Khan were selected from an inspiring shortlist of six architectural teams by a panel of well-known figures from the world of the arts, media, property, architecture and business, chaired by broadcaster and economist, Evan Davis. The decision brings to a close a six-month long competition funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA), which attracted over 70 entries, and was managed by Malcolm Reading Consultants.

    The vision for the new Museum of London balances a crisp and contemporary design with a strong recognition of the physicality and power of the existing spaces of the West Smithfield site.

    The winning architects will now work closely with the team at the museum and the museum’s stakeholders including the GLA, City of London Corporation and the local Smithfield community to develop their initial concepts into a fully-formed vision for the new museum at West Smithfield.

    Evan Davis, Chair of the Jury, said of the decision:
    “The jury knew it would be a difficult choice and that’s what it turned out to be. We had six fantastic teams on the shortlist; each had ideas for the site that were both ambitious and interesting. I would never have guessed that you could take wonderful old buildings like that and turn them into a new museum in so many completely different ways.
    But after a lot of discussion, a clear winner emerged. Stanton Williams and Asif Khan offered some really innovative thinking, and managed to combine a sensitivity to the heritage of the location, with a keen awareness of the practicalities of delivering a really functional museum.”

    Sharon Ament, Director of the Museum of London, said:
    “Now we have Stanton Williams and Asif Khan on board the hard work begins, and I cannot wait to get started. Over the coming months we will work together to design a new museum for London and Londoners which will be one of the top visitor attractions in the capital. Our project sparked the imagination of truly remarkable architects whose hard work and talent produced astounding submissions. I am grateful to them all. The Stanton Williams and Asif Khan partnership is a scintillating combination.”
    Mark Boleat, Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee at the City of London Corporation, said:
    “The City of London Corporation is proud to be a major funder and supporter of the Museum of London. We are looking forward to working with the museum as it launches this project to move to a new site in West Smithfield. We hope these ambitious plans will secure the museum’s long-term future, build on its reputation as an outstanding storyteller of the capital’s rich history, and contribute to the evolving Cultural Hub in the City.”

    Paul Williams, Director of Stanton Williams, said:
    “We are immensely excited about being given the opportunity to work with the Museum of London on this wonderfully challenging project – participating in an endeavour that will transform an area of London that has such a rich history, but sadly has been in decline for many years.
    Encountering the historic market spaces for the first time in early April this year, we were ‘blown away’ by the power and physicality already existing, and knew then, that whatever scheme we developed, this physicality needed to be harnessed, and not lost, and that initial observation has inspired our initial design proposals. This project will engage a broad community well beyond London.”

    Asif Khan said:
    “To have a chance to create a new museum for London, in London, about London, at this moment in time is incredibly exciting for us. We all know the power of public spaces in changing our city and our individual lives, and this is what drives us. We want the Museum of London to be a museum where everyone belongs, and where the future of London is created.”

    The museum intends to submit a planning application for the West Smithfield site to the City of London Corporation in 2019 and to deliver the new museum by 2024.

  10. Kite Store

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    Redchurch Street has changed over the past 20 years from an unknown, semi residential back street to being a mixed-use high street with a mosque, a hotel, an adjacent members club, advertising agency, luxury fashion stores and apartment buildings. A street which exemplifies the changes brought about by the past 20 years of private investment in Shoreditch, new projects here are commonplace. Such projects demand new thinking of model, purpose, and operation.
    We were asked to rethink the experience of buying eyewear, a typology traditionally dominated by casual shelf browsing and typified by an over-saturation of choice.
    Our project swaps the traditional wall display of frames for a personalised customer experience where specialists select and tailor the frame choice to the individual. The concept changes the customer experience from browsing to consultation.
    At Kite a series of fine timber booths offer one-to-one consultation in a semi-private bar setting. Concealed magnetic attachments allow the personal mirrors to be adjusted to the customers preference and adjustable partitions give customers the freedom to decide how private their experience will be and encourage more experimentation with styles. However, this is not an experience of isolation, as dedicated members of staff are on hand to guide you through your choices. Basic human interaction and open conversation becomes key.
    The store’s collection of frames is hidden from immediate view, held in the 200 drawers of the bar. A curated selection is carefully prepared and brought out for you. The honesty of experience is reflected in a simple palette of materials. Warm maple for the elements you touch and gather around, and textured bulletin board and etched silver mirrors wrap the existing blockwork walls, creating a tactile minimalism which brings the intricate detailing of the eyewear to foreground.