Jahnvi Patel
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Language plays a crucial role in our daily lives: it is a principal method for humans to communicate through speech, written symbols, and gestures. In my project, to reconnect with my Indian heritage, I use graffiti to familiarise myself with Indian history and my native language, Gujarati.
Furthermore, this project represents the idea that language is a form of self-expression. As a bilingual immigrant, the art presented demonstrates two languages - Gujarati and English intertwining with graffiti.
I took inspiration from (Queen) Rani Lakshmibai who challenged gender roles and rules made by society and Hindu customs. Similarly, both languages and graffiti confront the status quo of the female institutional standards called ‘Purdah’. Additionally, this also challenges the misunderstanding of hybrid cultures and broken-English stereotypes by using code-switching.
This presentation aims to motivate and inspire new perspectives into the community by incorporating pieces of myself in my artwork.
