Creativity Of Indian Artists Comes Alive During The Lockdown

There is no right way to approach the quarantine as we are all in unchartered territory. Some people are making the most of it and learning new skills and spending time with family while some are taking this time to rest and rewind. Everyone has a different approach towards this almost pause on their routine and normal life. We, at Homegrown, have been scouring all over Instagram and we can’t help but marvel at the creativity that is brimming from all parts of our country. From musicians to artists and from social workers to illustrators to cooks to entrepreneurs, individuals are finding ways to adapt and channel creativity in these despondent times.

Here is a list of creatives that Homegrown loves and we hope these works fill you with an appreciation for the human ability to innovate and create beautifully in any situation.

I. Abhilash Baddha

Designer Abhilash of art studio Nou Future is making comic and relatable illustrations around the Coronavirus. The illustration below is accurately captioned, ‘Stay in the sheets, Corona in the streets’. It works as a comic reminder to practice social distancing at all costs.

Source: Abhilash Baddha

II. Goat Horn

Role Reversal by artist Rohan is an amazing representation of how we have been caged in and we probably now realise the modicum of restriction that animals experience due to us. The sanitiser as the cage is a fun take on how very suddenly, the sanitiser is at the core of our existence.

Source: Goat Horn

III. Priyanka Shah Photos

Photographer Priyanka Shah is not letting the lockdown or travel restrictions stop her from collaborating with her fellow photographers.

About her project ‘Bombay-Bangalore-Delhi- 1 story-3 cities’, Priyanka says, “3 of us, from 3 different cities decided to come together to create some images.The point of webcam photoshoots was to maintain connections, go against the feeling of isolation, unite and be with each other virtually and emotionally in this time of quarantine.I had seen so many cool shots, however, I wondered what I could do different and this was it. I hadn’t seen anyone shoot with 2 subjects from 2 different cities. While facetime divides us into boxes we tried to create synchronicity and balance through images. Here is us coming together and breaking the trap of quarantine.”

Source: Priyanka Shah

IV. Shirish Ghatge

Illustrator Shirish Ghatge is making 21 illustrations on each day of the lockdown as he explores his own craft, skill, and understanding of body and texture.

Source: Shirish Ghatge

V. Pranjal Asha

Photographer Pranjal Asha is documenting the quarantine with Satyajit Ray’s Charulata (1964) as her muse. She is exploring the boredom and confinement Charulata felt in the iconic film and juxtaposing that with the same feelings we feel during this quarantine. Recreating Charulata was always on her list, but she was waiting for the best model and the best locationm only to realize that she didn’t need any of that and that she could make the most of the available resources.

Her Charulata isn’t lonely, surely alone but very much happy. She looks up to the stars, laughs a lot, and is unapologetic.

Pranjal feels that she is privileged to be stuck with her two flatmates who are just as eager to use these tedious times to explore the different ideas they have.

Source: Pranjal Asha

VI. Anirban Ghosh

The Home Series by Anirban Ghosh documents the experience of the migrant workers.

Says Anirban, “Through my art, THE HOME SERIES, I’m trying to capture the intersection of class, caste, religion and gender that makes our socio-economic milieu all the more complex. These illustrations are all interpretations of what a ‘home’ is and how it keeps transforming based on who we are and where we come from.
For some of us social lockdown might mean cooking and cleaning ourselves without our house help and setting up our homes for remote working. For the working class and gender and sexual minority groups whose livelihoods are completely dependent on mobility and regular human interaction, this crisis is quite different and much harsher. As we got into the lockdown my head was full of question and a strange sense of helplessness.
These artworks have helped give me an outlet to put out all that I’m feeling and thankfully has been resonating well with others too.It is absolutely necessary to stay in and it’s a great time for self-introspection - about how we live our lives, think about our choices, people and support systems that we take for granted and so on.”