# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
In what ways can I reimagine the visual chaos of snack packaging as a form of cultural patchwork or textile art?

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
I really like the effect the clear sheet with the stain or paint on it creates... especially with the colourful shadow. It reminds me of the stained glass lamp with its flickering shadows that I used to love watching as a kid.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Rain has always made me feel at home. The fresh and cool air accompanied by the familiar sound of raindrops on concrete in addition to the gleaming, flashing quality acquired by the streets and trees, akin to those of diamonds. This to me, is the signature season of Mumbai, a distinct reminder of home. Rain, of course, occurs elsewhere, but I have never been anywhere else in my life that has rains quite like my home, as the hustling and heat is broken temporarily - magically, by torrents of cool, rain whose  initial loudness fades gradually into a serene, peace-bringing orchestra of white noise. This photo is that of a street near me as I was driving to school (the top of the photo is slightly whitewashed as it was taken through a car windshield) and captures what I feel is the essence of the monsoon in Mumbai.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
home to me is the books on my shelves in my room, the pages yellowed and the covers torn from use. reading takes me home- it transports me to other worlds that only exist in my mind, playing on loop like a movie only I can watch, and that feels like home. trips to the bookstore with my father and sister remind me of home, because all the Sundays in my childhood were spent like that. I chose these specific pictures of open books and books on shelves because I like the individual color schemes of all four pictures and the way they all go together.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
My 'workplace' if you can call it that. A place I rarely use for any assignments or task but more of an extra storage space. Cluttered with my current unfinished project(s). The permanent objects however are a perfect representation of what home means to me messy and colourful and full of life. The objects that hold a more permanent residence are extremely important to my definition of home. Photos of my friends, trinkets and notes. Piles of Legos one of my favourite hobbies, a bunch of half used art supplies, a post card of Mumbai, a pile of books, an empty photo frames that I keep telling myself to fill up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Whether i look out from my balcony, go for walks around my area, or simply make my way to school, I always observe the many animals that call this city their home. Common examples are pigeons (like the one above) and cats. Sometimes they are the most annoying creatures to exist, but in the end I do appreciate their existence and beauty. Their recurring appearences throughout my life has created a sense of comfort, therefore I feel at home when I see them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
How can we carry parts of our home and imbibe them into our identities? 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Home for me has always boiled down to my pets. I have grown up with animals all my life, with a total of 7 dogs and 2 cats throughout my childhood. The first thing that I think of when I hear the word home is them. They give me a sense of comfort and safety. I've always had a very strong connection to animals, I will never hesitate to run up to a stray cat or puppy, jump at the chance to go on safari or go bird watching with my grandparents. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
I've grown up in a household where there must always be at least one vase of flowers on every table, desk or countertop. My mother grew up near a large garden, and was adamant about filling our house up with plants and beautiful flowers. I think these help give my home character and personality. Whenever I see flowers lined up on the side of the road or dotted in trees, the first thing I think of is how many of them I can spot in my room. I would love to experiment with the colours and shapes of the different flowers I see around me.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
I love the idea of creating a familiar space inside a familiar object which gives us a new perspective on how we use the object differently. For example the artist made a laundry room inside an empty detergent bottle which gives us an insight to what their use of the object is. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
My artist inspiration, Arpita Singh, not only embeds storytelling through her art style, which mimics tapestries, but she also preserves memories. A real-life example I can relate to of preserving memories is through pressed flowers. My mother taught me how to do this long ago, and I remember trying to press leaves and flowers and failing. What stuck with me, though, was the warmth of the scene my mother created in my head.  

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
this is a picture of my best friend, myra. she moved to bangalore a few years ago, just as we were getting a whole lot closer. i call her and text her all the time, but there are a whole lot of special occasions where we really just miss her. then, last year, i was decorating for my halloween party which was based off a podcast called 'the magnus archives.' the podcast creates a categorisation of fear into 14.5 categories, and i thought 'what better way to represent the end (the fear of death) then make an altar and which better person to make an altar to than the person who i wish could be here with us?' i quickly realised i had no respectable pictures of myra, so i had to take a really old photo and print it out on my admittedly horrible printer (note that the picture is from a race podium and she came third and i was second!!). then, at the party, i gave everyone a prompt and as part of surya's prompt, he made everyone take pictures with the photo of myra. from then on, she's been a fixture at events like these, even making special appearances at other people's birthday parties.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
books make me feel at home by creating invisible spaces of comfort and safety, building walls. the stairs act as a guiding force, pulling the viewer physically into the piece, between the pages pf the book.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
As i explore rhythm and sound, another crucial part of dance that stablises the foundation the piece is built upon is the storytelling. One of the key ways to tell a story is through the hand gestures made. These symbolically represent the different traditional tales, passed on from generation just like the dance itself. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
exams have been making me stir-crazy since about 8th grade. these walls are the ongoing result. they're plastered with mementos, photos, art, posters, magazine clippings and a sewing machine warranty card. don't ask how i climbed so high up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
In hi works, arjun not only tells a story, but also creates an interesting focal point with a bright pop of colour. There are also many cultural references in his artwork 

# data[].attributes.headline
Artist reference for Lens option 1 - Arjun Kamath

# data[].attributes.subject
Artist reference for Lens option 1 - Arjun Kamath

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Option 1- Pipilotti Rist, a Swiss visual artist known for her video art and immersive environments which blends colour, sound, and emotion. She exploresexplores themes of femininity, nature, and sensory experience.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Option 2- Carrie Mae Weems, an American artist known for her photography, but also works with fabric, audio, installation, and video. She explores themes of race, gender, class, and the historical representation of Black identity in America. Her dramatic use of light works as a narrative tool, used to evoke mood and highlight emotion, which I find very interesting

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
I stumbled across this artist while conducting my research and i think her technique of stitching the pictures together gives a frankenstein effect which is really interesting and i like how they represent healing or weaving the part of you together. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
a big inspiration for my book was the third journal from the TV show, 'gravity falls.' it served as a jumping off point for my idea (which is very different now), but it had the progression into madness that i wanted to capture, and lots of funky little weird creepy creatures, which i'm kind of obsessed with. this page is one of the more structured pages, because it starts as a scientist's account of all the odd things you can see in the fictional town of gravity falls, oregon. the next page is a lot more intense and captures the scientist's journey, which occurs before the show begins and is a central plot point in the series' development.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
in the best piece of media ever created, 'the magnus archives,' there is a man named jurgen leitner. he is univerally hated. essentially, he's a trust fund guy who decided to use his money to create a library of 'books of power-' essentially, books that have the power of the fears (there are 14.5 categories of fear, but also the categories don't work, but also i won't get into that because this will be way too long) imbibed in them, so that they can have real world consequences. some examples of this are 'a guest for mr spider,' a children's book that shows insects knocking on mr spider's door and feeding/ being fed to mr spider, with the ending being the reader themselves being presented with the door to mr spider's home, and being compelled to open it and offer yourself as mr spider's dinner. my personal favourite is ex altiora. however, the one that most applies to the topic of hybridity is 'the bone turner's tale,' a book that embodies the fear known as 'the flesh.' the book teaches the reader the art of boneturning through a canterbury-like tale. boneturning is the manipulating of someone or the reader's own flesh and bone to craft whatever form they like. the man who learnt this craft is named jared hopworth, and after a lot of plot, when the world was governed by fear domains, he made a flesh garden. the next post will attach an image of some concept art for that, and explain why i link my ideas to the concept of the flesh.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
the way that the flesh ties in hybridity is that it's like a contortion and distortion of the human body into different forms. for instance, the transformation of literal flesh into plants in jared's garden. an aspect of the flesh, though, that i think is most important to my topic is that it never loses sight of humanity. it doesn't distract from the fact that the subjects are very human and it takes the essence of a person and contorts and shifts in into the sum of its parts, removing the consciousness. the angle of hybridity that i'm aiming to look at is the hybrid nature of the consciousness and the body. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
I wanted to envision an arcade-like place which my mind kind of turns into when I go online, mostly through neon colors, strange shapes, and possibly arcade games. The image above is from/inspired by Deltarune's "cyber world" and goes in a direction which I want to explore

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
I was heavily inspired by looking at many different types of cyanotype while researching the process, having never have seen it before, but I was particularly drawn to this specific type above, that is prints of landscape, nature, capturing seemingly insignificant moments, freezing them in time. Observing the cyan hues that add an almost eerie or wistful and evocative feel to the piece, and looking at the indistinct and hazy shapes in most of these cyanotypes, I linked these characters to those of memories. cyanotype is a fitting representation of what my memories look like in my head and even capture the emotions I feel while remembering them, like wistfulness or longing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
I was inspired by Idris Khan because I think his layered, semi-abstract style captures the passage of time and creation of memories perfectly, the blurriness and haziness symbolizing reminiscence and sentimentality. he uses superimposition to compress photographs and text into one final piece and he explores concepts like literature and music, even philosophy. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
While i was doing research for my topic i came across this really interesting image  of a splash. Something about the angle, the definition and colour drew my eye to the picture since it seemed to move even though its still. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
A constant stream of bad news makes me feel helpless and isolated, as though I can do nothing except consume it, be defined and controlled by it, much like a puppet. I want to explore this feeling for unit 3.