Aaniya Asrani
Telling Time
Bedsheets, ink and salt
The pit in my stomach, knotted itself into a twist when I realised I couldn’t see my parents again for the foreseeable future. It mangled itself in the thought that if they were to be taken by the illness, that they might not survive it. It contracted as I realised there was nothing I could do to protect them or any of us from life’s unavoidable trajectory. How I wish to be back on a carefree summer day, surrounded by my loved ones, intertwined in their arms.
In quarantine I have been making rope, with an endless supply of old fabric strips marred with ink and salt stains from a time when making art in a room full of people was not threatening. The rope accounts not only for my worries and fears but also for time spent thinking of or engaging with my loved ones far away. Each twist is a moment of connection in isolation, each turn holding space for this host of new feelings we are all at odds with.
My art practice, which is usually social in nature has had to re-imagine itself in our time of social- distancing. I have found great solace in connecting with other artist remotely and exchanging ideas, stories and hopes for the future. I learned how to make this rope from indigenous artist, Nicole Preissl, who uses rope making in her art practice to engage in discussions of place-making on these unceded territories.
Aaniya Asrani is an interdisciplinary artist, graphic designer and visual storyteller from Bangalore, India. In 2014 she graduated with a distinction in Visual Communication for her project ‘Portraits of Exile’ from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology. The series of books were later published by Katha, an NGO based in Delhi. Her other published works include The Poetics of Fragility and De Sidere 7 made in collaboration with filmmaker Nicolás Grandi and cultural critic Lata Mani.
Currently she is working and living in Vancouver, Canada - on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam, Nations. She graduated in 2019 with a Master of Fine Art degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design where she now teaches as sessional faculty under the Faculty of Culture and Community. She has also recently been appointed Creative Director for Plain Sight Studio, based in NYC.
Her work investigates social, political and cultural infrastructures in order to critique and question existing injustices, with the ultimate goal of facilitating empathy across diverse communities and systemic disparities. Her current artistic practice focuses on a facilitation of ‘radical care’ that takes the form of community workshops. These workshops have been conducted at Vancouver’s International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art; Centre A, Roundhouse Community Centre, Ground Floor Arts Centre and ECUAD.
