Textiled Bodies
The illustration is part of a project titled Tex(T)iled Bodies, which explores social norms around the covering and uncovering of bodies through text and fabric. Poetry serves as a tool to challenge notions of pride and shame associated with clothing. The project includes hands-on activities like cloth installations, scrolls, and poetry workshops with visually challenged communities. Its goal is to raise awareness about marginalized bodies and address issues related to gender and caste.
For this project, I contributed by writing poetry in both Kannada and English, and creating illustrations on a scroll that was exhibited at the SMI Live 2023 event (Srishti Manipal Institute Live 2023).
Poetry
Translation
A hundred layers clothe this flesh and bone,
How much did the bare eye see? How much remains concealed?
Threads weave a shroud around the skin—
Did it mask the body, or did it veil the honour within?
Process
Colour Palette- While picking a colour from a pixel is simple, working with acrylic paints requires careful attention to mixing the right quantities, adjusting value with white, and considering how the colour will appear once dried on fabric. The selected colours provide a strong visual and contextual contrast, with bright orange drawing attention from a distance as the scroll is displayed on a wall.
Orange and blue create a balance between warm and cool tones, mirroring the conflicting societal, political, cultural, and economic perspectives surrounding the body and clothing.
Dimension- 3ft by 9ft
Material- Cora cloth, Acrylic paint
Poetry recital with Kaavya Sanje.
Workshop with Deepa Academy for the visually challenged.
Poetry recital at SMI Live 2023.