Art in the time of social media

Somewhere in the middle of our chat with a young Navi Mumbaibased visual artist and poet we are once again reminded of the impact and growing influence of social media on Gen Next ldquoIn mid 2015 I began to post my art on Instagram It generated a lot of buzz It makes for a great medium for likeminded people to discuss art and its extended worldrdquo shares Priyanka PaulWe humans are like sunflowers Inherently we will always turn to goodness like sunflowers turn to the sun Unless wersquove been ripped apart from withinYoung and the creativeAll of 17 she wears her talent casually Her middleclass roots might have something to do with it ldquoI donrsquot have any cool tools to practice In fact I began to illustrate on my mumrsquos smartphone when I discovered that it had a stylus as well as several artfriendly apps like Mediabang Paint and SketchBook Expressrdquo she says matteroffactly ldquoNow Irsquom hookedrdquo Her grin doesnrsquot hide the sense of satisfaction of pursuing her passionLove is love Queer bodies paint with colour over the scars the wounds the bullet holes top right Priyankarsquos art inspired by Harnidh Kaurrsquos poemldquoAround the same time mid2015 I also realised that unlike art poetry doesnrsquot get as many lsquolikesrsquo on social media Good poetry tends to get scrolled over So by introducing art as a medium it might offer better clarity on poetryrdquo Priyanka explains rattling off the names of community forums where she discusses art and poetry ldquoSocial media is a great tool I am exposed to all kinds of creative folk mdash artists photographers writers models and poets my age We jam a lot Our collaborations are amazingrdquo This love for combining visual art and poetry took an interesting twist recentlyPriyanka PaulNaPoWriMoxNidhScraps was a hashtag created by poet Harnidh Kaur who threw a challenge at upcoming poets on social media to post a poem a day in April which was National Poetry Writing Month After this she chose six winners including her Kaurrsquos poem Pantheon inspired Priyanka and she created an artwork which earned her praise from none other than the poet ldquoI knew I could draw and the response I got for it was overwhelmingrdquo she recalls Today shersquos creating art and poetry works illustrating books and selling her art on retail sitesMake up positivity In collaboration with artist Asfa Sabrin Believe in the radical idea that I donrsquot put make up for men or any human being but for myself alone Have you tried the new range of self love lipsticks impress myself palette feel good concealer and antiswimming on the first date mascara Make up isnrsquot false advertising because Irsquom not a productArt callA student of Humanities at St Xavierrsquos College Priyanka says ldquoSince kindergarten I would doodle on any piece of paper I would find However after I entered college I began to take it seriously I was exposed to subjects like Political Science History and Sociology Sociology in particular introduced me to different world cultures and slowly I realised that my art was a reaction and reflection to itrdquo she recounts Priyanka is currently working on a series that highlights the problems faced by some of Africarsquos tribes mdash from ivory trade to socioeconomic challengesldquoI need to find a middle ground since I havenrsquot travelled to that part of the world But I research a lot before putting idea to paperrdquo she says when we prod about the expanse of her ideation Curious about finding inspiration at such a young age we imagine she would reveal a laundry list of artists Itrsquos quite the opposite ldquoI am more inspired by poets art films spoken word and documentaries I feel that the best ideas emerge when you mix things uprdquo she sharesAs a 17yearold how does she balance all of it A few months ago Priyankarsquos mother was struck with a serious illness ldquoIt changed everything for me At the time I was depressed Somehow I was able to channelise my emotions into art It saved merdquo she revealsStrength of a womanFlipping through some of her work we notice that strong women dominate Shades of a young feminist perhaps ldquoOh yes I call myself onerdquo she says in a flash ldquoAs long as I can recall my mum has been one and now itrsquos a part of me The term is being used less and less There is a lot of brainwashing around us and people donrsquot wish to be associated with the idea Irsquom seeing a lot of misogynist narrative everywhere I donrsquot wish for my peers to experience thisrdquo she reasons ldquoMy art will be a medium to bring feminism back to the centrerdquoThe new cool feminist is here mdash she is armed with a canvas and understands the power of social media