Statement Regarding Artwork Curated On 21st May Evening

On 21st May 2020, as part of its regular editorial curation of creatives, Homegrown noticed Parambanana’s artwork (we were tagged on it). The artwork and artist’s message behind it which spoke of the impact of the pandemic on the livelihood of karigars and the need to support independent, homegrown fashion brands and artists resonated with us.

We believed that it was an important narrative to share, so we asked the artist for his permission and reposted it as part of our curation. This was not an artwork commissioned by Homegrown.

It was then brought to our attention by Rini Alphonsa Joseph (@kaatukozhi on Instagram), that elements of the artwork’s composition were taken from her original work without permission or due credit.

As soon as we were notified, Homegrown took down the artwork from its feed to immediate effect, apologised to the original artist and requesting Parambanana to reach out to the original artist and address the same. In addition to this we pushed out a statement with the details of what transpired without naming the artists involved.

We would like to clarify again that Homegrown did not commission this artwork and it was only reposted as part of our editorial curation. We were not aware that the artwork in question was not the artist’s original work and took a leap of faith. However, we are glad that Ms. Rini reached out and highlighted the issue.

Homegrown truly understands how emotional and personal a piece of original work is to an artist/creative. We as a platform will continue our work in providing a platform to homegrown talent. We respect the effort, ingenuity, and purpose with which an artist creates.

Please note: When we notified Parambanana, the artist communicated that the artwork was a collage with elements off the internet (as per their DM response).

Although while publishing it we were unaware of this, we sincerely regret this incident and the hurt it has caused the artist.