THE CAPITALYST

Alison Jackson on Celebrity, Fake Truths, and the Seduction of Fame

Alison Jackson, the BAFTA-winning British artist, uses celebrity look-alikes to expose how photography seduces audiences into accepting fabricated images as truth. Her work interrogates our voyeuristic obsession with fame and the media machine that manufactures celebrity. Jackson argues that because we cannot trust the real anymore, the only way forward is to show the fake, challenging viewers to question the artificial world created by media and politicians for power and commercial gain.

Amine Amharech: Building Worlds Between Art, Architecture and Experience

In this exclusive interview, Moroccan-born creative director and architect Amine Amharech discusses how studying under Thom Mayne and collaborating with Zaha Hadid shaped his radical approach to space. From staging grand operas to curating collectible design in Dubai, Amharech opens up about his uncompromising artistic vision, the strategic edge of martial arts, and creating immersive global atmospheres.

Vicky Ratnani: The Indian Chef Redefining Global Cuisine Through Sindhi Roots

From seven-star cruise kitchens to global television and restaurant innovation, Vicky Ratnani has built a career at the intersection of creativity, discipline, and scale. In this candid conversation with The Capitalyst, he reflects on life at sea, the evolution of Indian dining, sustainability, street food wisdom, and the future of food in a rapidly changing world.

Yasmine Berrada: The Moroccan Gallerist Taking Contemporary African Art Global

Yasmine Berrada launched Loft Art Gallery from Casablanca in 2009, translating her finance background into a long-term vision for collecting and curation. The gallery champions Moroccan and African artists—bridging local practice with global institutions, fairs and publications—while balancing risk, instinct and deep commitment to research, preservation and international dialogue.

Vikas Swarup: The Indian Diplomat Who Gave the World ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Vikas Swarup — diplomat, novelist, and the mind behind Q&A — has always been drawn to ordinary people carrying extraordinary stories. In this wide-ranging conversation, he reflects on writing Slumdog Millionaire’s source novel in two and a half months, navigating the film’s Oscar glory and its controversies, and what retirement has finally given him: time to write.

Vikram Goyal: The Indian Artist Reimagining Repoussé, Artisanship and Material Intelligence

Vikram Goyal’s path into design was a layering of disciplines — engineering, development economics and finance — each sharpening the thinking he would eventually bring to India’s ancient craft traditions. When he encountered master artisan Ramesh and began working with brass, he arrived not with the singular lens of a designer, but with a willingness to question inherited assumptions about scale, material, and what craft could truly become.