This piece was a response to the contrasts I witnessed between Highgate, Brompton, and the Crossbones Cemetery. An average size of a grave is 6 feet deep and 2.5 feet wide. The border enclosing the prints is the same size to represent a single grave in a privileged burial. The prints of the feet represent the number of bodies that can fill up a single grave in a mass burial like the Crossbones Cemetery.

My current work seeks to evoke reflection by capturing the timelessness of inequality and focusing on the rituals needed for its effect, through the perspective of death. It is an investigation, analysing the deaths of distinct groups which embody the disparities between the powerful and the vulnerable. By narrating these stories and applying diverse design processes to storytelling, I aim to convey and compare forgotten human stories with new depth, perspective and meaning to commentate on our social structures and morality. Comparing the deaths of my subject groups provides us with insights into how society governs, self regulates and prioritises. Common patterns of societal treatment arises for the most vulnerable.

The key themes I explore include; dehumanization, the other, group identity, erasure of individual identity and injustice.

Process Images

Initial Idea in Sketchbook. I decided to make a Batik print as it was a reflection of my identity and in technicalities it was the most feasible way to go about it. Though I have done batik print 7 years ago, I did not know if the combination of acrylic, wax and dye is possible and there was nothing available for research. Thus, I decided to experiment. I was a little scared because I have never made such a large piece before and didn’t have the right utensils to do this. But I really wanted to accomplish this and give the people a feeling of being transported to see a different perspective and the size of the work plays a role in that.

First Mock Up. This piece failed because I did not think about size and dimensions in this preliminary stage.

Second set of prints made on the final piece of white bedsheet, ready to be waxed and dyed.

Here I faced the majority of my obstacles. My initial colour requirements were brown, the instructions I was given didn’t achieve the results I wanted. But purple is a symbol of luxury and power. That fit into the contrast between the powerful and the vulnerable I was trying to achieve. Secondly, when I first tried batik, it was on a small piece of cloth from which wax could be easily scraped off. Even after spending hours scraping, the wax was pretty much prominent and peeling and uneven. I showed this in my final Realise presentation and the feedback I got was to keep the wax as it showed peeling skin. But the crinkly wax was not translating to the effect I wanted to achieve.

I tried to wash it off with hot water, to no avail. Then I tried ironing the cloth after sandwiching it between newspapers, which worked out well. It left a waxy touch to the feet prints, which I didn’t mind. But it also left behind pools of grease stains which refused to budge.

Now the reason I hadn’t washed or boiled it till now was because of the acrylic paint. But with my hands tied, I ordered a 21 liter deep pan to boil the cloth in and the result was unexpected and expected at the same time. The boiling water made the wax come off but it took away the acrylic paint with it as well as there was no more wax to protect it. What was left behind was a waxy acrylic crumbling mess which I thought was the point of no return and I was really broken. I threw it for a wash and this is the image after. The richness, colour, tone, effect, all were gone.

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I didn’t want to give up in the end so I went all over the feet prints again. This was the third and last time I was balancing on the left leg, painting my right sole, making a print while I paint on the left sole, take the second print. Each complete set of prints took me approximately 4 hours to do. Finally, in the end it was complete and I am very happy with all the lessons learnt.

Beneath You, 2020; Wax, Acrylic, Dye, Bedsheet; Location: Crossbones Cemetery

Location: Brompton Cemetery