In October 2013, Mumbai-based visual artist and designer Priyesh Trivedi was working in a game studio in Andheri when he shared the first piece from a series of illustrations inspired by and parodying the ‘Adarsh Balak’ posters with instructions on how to become an ‘ideal boy’ that aimed to groom Indian boys in the 1980s and ’90s. The good habits promoted by these “insanely stereotypical, sexist” posters “with moral propaganda and subliminal political messages which demanded obedience and subservience” included getting up early in the morning, studying diligently, obeying one's parents and elders, and joining the National Cadet Corps — India’s equivalent of the Boy Scouts.
Using the distinct visual style of the original “ideal boy” posters, marijuana-themed puns, and pop culture references, Trivedi’s ‘Adarsh Balak’ subverted and satirised the propaganda messages of the originals, throwing dark humour and biting social commentary into the mix. Trivedi’s 'Adarsh Balak' smoked joints with his father, got high whenever he wanted and vandalised walls, offering a diametrically opposed though likely more relatable representation of boyhood. They were an instant internet phenomenon. By May 2014, the series had become so viral that Trivedi left his job to focus entirely on the series.
10 years later, Trivedi has returned to the series with ‘Spiff Personality’, the first sculptural work in the series which continues the tradition of satirical critique of India’s educational posters and the moral propaganda embedded in them.
Using a visually potent imagery of conjoined twins, one head holding a joint while the other lights it — a darkly humorous and subversive act that inverts the very notion of ‘ideal behaviour’ — the sculpture speaks of the contradiction between societal expectation and individual desire which underscores the inescapable interconnectedness of conformity and rebellion, innocence and corruption, producing a kind of duality that is as absurd as it is tragic.
The act is not just a casual defiance; it is a grotesque symbiosis; a mutually assured self-destruction that speaks to the duplicity and internal conflict inherent in any rigid, moralistic structure.
‘Spliff Personality’ is on view at Method India as part of the group show ‘Portrait of a Time’ until September 29.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
Punya Chatterjee's 'Chakras For Sale' Satirizes The Absurd Reality Of Appropriation
Preetika Rajgariah's Multidisciplinary Art Defies Capitalism Through Hybridity
Gary Curzai's Designs Are Driven By A Fascination With His Own Multicultural Identity