Space Bust
Illustration/Digital Painting, Editorial illustration for NTU Kaleidoscope, 2020This work was done upon the request of NTU Kaleidoscope, a student-initiated LBGTQ+ organisation which aims to create a voice for the LGBTQ community in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and is part of the Inter-University LGBTQ network in Singapore. Check out their facebook page here.
One of their newer efforts was to create a publication which would provide a space for queer voices to be heard and heroed together with works of art and illustration. all of which come together to celebrate and shed light on queer experiences.
I was introduced to a beautifully written Tamil poem about the dissonance and anxieties that come with hiding your true self from your family. The poet describes this disconnected identity as a mask. Having had the task of interpreting this work as a painting, I focused on what the words made me feel rather than portraying the words as directly as possible.
To me, the poem brought about the idea of blankness and having no physical rooting. I wanted to portray the idea of floating in space with no grounding. Greek sculptures have always represented perceived perfection with its smooth and chiseled features. I wanted to use the imagery of such a facade crumbling and floating in space to convey the rootlessness the persona is feeling as well as the difficulty in upholding such a facade.
Read the full publication here!
