A Crushed Soul
Formal
“A crushed soul” is a non-interactive digital image I created on July 28, 2021. It can be categorised as a networked art as it is meant to be displayed online on the virtual public space, namely, the social media platforms. It is intended to expose the audience to a phenomenon from contemporary history and garner their response.
Aesthetic
The work attempts to tell, narrate, visualise and document a story from contemporary history, albeit it might have to be supplemented with captions and information in order to introduce the audience to the event(s) and phenomenon in question.
The audience can observe the artwork and offer their response to it. This response is desired to be an informed one, rather than generating from an information void. Depending on the platform it is shared, this response can be interactive.
In other words, the work also serves as a surface of information - as it wants the onlookers to confront the humanistic concerns taking shapes from a piece of current affairs/history.
Technical
The image was created using the free online painter app from www.youidraw.com. Later on, the image background was modified using the free online image editor, www.befunky.com.
Story
“The woman was killed after she was hit by an army vehicle while crossing the road in Nadihal today afternoon.
They said that the body was still lying under the vehicle, while her identity was being ascertained (Army Vehicle Crushes, 2021).”
Excerpt from the news, one of few that has remained online after nearly two years. Is she a woman from Ukraine? Hong Kong? Or Kashmir? Personally, I also wanted to inquire how responses might change as the identity of the victim changes.
In Kashmir’s social media, the photographic image of her dead body was repeatedly being shared and it was heavily stressful to look at it. It induced nausea for many, given the presence of graphic violence in this image.
I had to think of a way to change this photographic depiction, so I came up with this painting after a few initial drafts.
Reference
Army vehicle crushes woman to death in Bandipora. (2021, July 14). The Voice Of Kashmir. Retrieved from https://thevoiceofkashmir.in/army-vehicle-crushes-woman-to-death-in-bandipora/
