MEMORIES IN BLUE

A brief conversation with Jaimini Jariwala, the newest addition to the Art Incept family as our represented artist.

 

Born in 1991 (Gujarat), Jaimini studied painting from Surat School of Fine Arts, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, followed by a Masters in Printmaking and Graphics from MSU, Vadodara.

 

 

As a printmaker, her interest lies in exploring various techniques to express the rhythm of repetitive patterns of cloth drawings. She constructs these through a reverse process
of unpicking the fabric, removing single lines of thread – leaving marks that narrate the history of the transformed image. The cyanotype prints act as X-ray and help to capture the fragility of the fabric, depicting only what is left. The drawings emerge as prints and the sketch itself becomes a layer of the artwork.

The forms that float in these images emerge predominantly from her childhood memories. Coming from a family that has been in the textile business for two generations, Jaimini spent most of her days playing with thread and cloth in her ancestral home in the old city of Surat. This experience is depicted through the structure, geometry and tactile nature of her image making process. Her artwork is rooted in the basic, along with the primitive process of mark making. Derived from the idea of play, the images illustrate the “fugitive moments” capturing a sense of time and place.

 

 

Her work reflects the proverb in Gujarati that echoes the emotional connections with the space, people, food, place, things; a bond unbroken, a place to return, no matter where life may take you.

Can you tell us a little more about your practice?

My practice is more about knowing, discovering and understanding myself. My varied experiences and memories from my past play an integral part in my process. My sketches and drawings reflect and capture my thoughts. Using different printing techniques helps me find more ways to express what I want to say. I often scribble and from these scribbles a final drawing emerges.

What inspired you to be an artist?

It’s not something that I can easily explain in words or in a sentence! I am inquisitive. I want to learn and experience more of this world around me. I want to then use my art to express and share these everyday life experiences.

How has your journey been so far? What have been the biggest obstacles?

My journey has been more like a roller coaster ride. There are times that I feel like I am on top of the world, and then there are times I am under the ocean where no one can find me. I don’t think and see any obstacles around me right now but then I don’t know what the future holds. There are many possibilities.

How did you navigate through the art world as a woman? Were there any disadvantages?

Yes, it was different and difficult when I was in college. Today it is a lot better. Not great, but a lot better. When I was in college, I found that professors, at times, decided that girls cannot travel to outstation residencies and camps. We were, therefore, often deprived of this opportunity. We were also not considered seriously for student exchanges especially in other countries which for me was exciting and enriching, as well as an essential way to explore and further one’s practice. Things are, however, a lot better today.

What is your suggestion to other aspiring young women artists?

I’m not someone who can give advice yet. There is still so much for me to learn!
What I can, however, suggest to all artists, not just women, is that they must follow a routine, give themselves enough time, and most of all, stay focused and continue practising.
No one can help you but yourself.