Information Arts and Information Design Practices
Our collective portfolio “Compositae: A PGDP Crossover,” is the result of weeks of hard work and collaboration, which was possible due to the bonds we formed over the past year and our facilitator Sudebi Thakurata. As a part of the curatorial team, I was deeply familiar with every line of inquiry and piece of work, making me realise how interconnected and personal each of our works are. To represent this, we curated flexible, non-linear sections where everyone’s stories and works could cut across, creating a comprehensive, interwoven story of our journey. The works I have included in this collection were a result of my positionality as an English honours student and a woman. After recognizing the social hierarchies and underrepresentation of women around me, I took the opportunity to express my feelings through stories. This was done through the portrayal of Indian epics and their societal impact, focusing on the characters of Draupadi and Sita. The first piece of work is an expression of unfiltered feelings of frustration, gradually moving towards an insightful, research-based approach that enhances its impact. The technique of visual storytelling through illustrations, inspired from the Madhubani art form, has been used, tentatively at first, and confidently by the last work. Unintentionally, my work created a space for others to share similar experiences, and raised curiosity about the nuances of our society. In the future, I hope to foster discussions among people of all demographics through a transportable version and a digital version of my work.
As I grew up, I started recognizing the gender stereotypes and inequalities prevalent in both my home and the society. My experience as an English Honours student and my T&U course in Gender and Technology at Srishti widened my perspective further, helping me accept my positionality as a feminist and making me realise how stories of women and gender minorities are often underrepresented. Throughout my PGDP journey, I then strived to bring such stories to the forefront by combining both of my interests – fictional stories and social causes focused upon women. My journey begins from a space of expressing unfiltered feelings for a cause, towards a more insightful approach wherein I apply research methodologies to enhance the impact of my work. It starts from a curious exploration of a new art form, Madhubani, which I was uncertain of in the beginning, towards a more confident approach where I delved deeper and ultimately made 11 illustrations in the same art form.
