Interview: without SHAPE without FORM Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Deep Kailey
THE WICK: What does a typical Monday look like for you?
Deep Kailey: Mornings begin quietly, Simran first, lemon and ginger water second. I like to ease into the day by checking in with myself before checking in with the world. Mondays often mean a mix of creative direction, research, mentoring, and figuring out if the exhibition install schedule matches the actual realities of the world. At some point, I’ll remind myself to eat.
TW: A spiritual journey has taken you from a career in fashion editorial to founding without SHAPE without FORM. What inspired you to take that leap?
DK:
The shift began with grief. I lost my mother at ten, and that early encounter with loss made me question life’s purpose. I poured myself into fashion – Dazed, Vogue India, Tatler and loved the creativity, but something deeper was always stirring. Years later, I discovered Simran, a Sikh focused practice of the mind. Within minutes, I felt I’d come home. During the pandemic, that inner shift became outer action. I helped lead a food programme, and realised true fulfilment came not from titles or bylines, but from service.
That’s when without SHAPE without FORM was born. A space to explore contemporary Sikh wisdom through art and storytelling. I used to curate visuals, now I try to curate spaces where people can reflect, connect and transform.
TW: Tell us about your new space in Slough and the upcoming exhibition, Reflections – Sangat and the Self.
DK:
After four years touring all over the UK, welcoming over 50,000 visitors into spaces of stillness and self-discovery, we return home to start a bold new chapter with a transformed gallery in a town deprived of such spaces. Starting with Reflections – Sangat and the Self which brings together works by Manchester-born painter Jasmir Creed, Birmingham-based multidisciplinary artist Roo Dhissou, and participatory pieces from without SHAPE without FORM. It’s an exhibition about the individual, kinship and healing, but also about mental wellbeing and the quiet epidemic of disconnection.
Each artist explores the relationship between self and collective. Jasmir delves inward, Roo celebrates the shared ritual of gathering, and without SHAPE without FORM offers a space where these worlds meet with Simran (focused practice), Shabad (Unstruck Melody) and Sangat (gathering and fellowship) as tools for overcoming isolation and division.
This exhibition underscores the idea that true and lasting healing begins within. It’s an invitation to pause, engage and consider your own sense of self – through community, daily practice and the quiet power of reflection.
TW: You’ve spoken before about the duality of being South Asian and growing up in the West. How do you navigate these identities, and how does representation come through in your work?
DK:
I’ve never seen my identity as a tension between cultures. It’s more like a dance. I’ve learnt that duality isn’t a divide, it’s a richness. My upbringing shaped how I see the world: the sense of duty and belonging from my Sikh heritage, paired with the creative freedom and exploration through various mediums.
Representation, for me, isn’t about visibility alone, it’s about responsibility. My work centres around deeper values: compassion, courage, consciousness. I’m less interested in aesthetic clichés and more in creating spaces for reflection, both inward and shared. Through without SHAPE without FORM, I try to offer platforms that speak to a multiplicity of identities. Not to define them, but to honour the fluidity of how we exist, move, and grow.
“I used to curate visuals, now I try to curate spaces where people can reflect, connect and transform.”
