Turn grief into art: Young artiste from Jaipur exhibits pandemic-themed Inktober on social media

Poorti Purohit, a 24-year-old artist from Jaipur, has been participating in Inktobers since 2018. But the global creative phenomenon, of sharing a sketch on social media every day of October, became monotonous for her in 2020. Well, blame the year. It is then that she decided to turn it into a cultural zeitgeist or a time capsule. “Art imitates life and with everything happening last year, I thought of expressing and channelling my thoughts about the pandemic through my Inktober sketches. I was so overwhelmed with the ideas in my brain that I decided to crowdsource my prompts on Instagram (as opposed to the official Inktober list released every year). I was amazed to see the response, and it made me realise how each one of us were experiencing similar things in different ways,” says Poorti. Her pandemic-themed Inktober ranges from the hilarious (binge-watching till you turn into a skeleton) to the reflective (symbolising grief as untamable waves). “I remember, when I sketched the prompt ‘Grief,’ my Instagram inbox was flooded with messages and comments saying how they related to it and what grief meant to them; it was touching. Another time when I made something about going through a reading slump during the pandemic, I was shocked to see how so many people related to it and found it funny.

This was the best part about the pandemic-themed Inktober: It created a community for a lot of people to express and remind each other that we are not alone in this.”

She also credits the spike in her creativity to returning to her hometown of Jaipur during the lockdown, from Mumbai, where she studied at Mithibai College and Xavier Institute of Communication, and subsequently worked in Public Relations. “With the responsibility of managing life and adulting temporarily gone, it gave me a lot of time to explore my creativity with childlike freedom. Last year, I painted the ‘Starry Night’ on a 4x2 glass piece lying around the house with my old art supplies because my stuff was still in Mumbai during the lockdown. I even ended up painting and varnishing home furniture in the name of helping out at home.” She adds that her creative endeavours also extended to small but significant acts of philanthropy. “During the initial part of the lockdown, my friends and I carried out a donation drive to feed street animals and migrants by making digital postcards. We were able to provide meals for over 700 animals, and many migrant families from the proceeds. But after moving back home, I got the opportunity and time to conduct another donation drive by making digital portraits and sketches. The collection was about INR 22,000, and was used to provide medical supplies for COVID-19 patients during the second wave.” Another Inktober sketch by Poorti proudly proclaims “I live here now” as she poses as a cowgirl in a desert (Rajasthan, geddit?). “I have been fortunate to be able to reconnect with art the way I never thought I would ever get the chance to. Afterall, landlords do not appreciate painting caricatures on walls as much as parents do.” Here are some of the Inktober sketches by Poorti Purohit [caption id=“attachment_10093301” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Commuting to work in pandemic[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093351” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sanitising- How much sanitizer is too much sanitizer[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093361” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] (3) Hairstyle of the year 2020- Getting rid of unwanted body hair and (4) Waking up to the view in 2020[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093371” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Mood[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093381” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] (6) Essentials vs. Non Essentials in 2020 and (7) Shit- If 2020 was a bird[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093441” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Future- Custom made fortune cookie suggestions for 2020[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093451” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Reading in 2020[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093461” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Binge[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093551” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] (11) Self Love- You’re your own quarantine partner for life (12) Anime- Here’s a theory[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093561” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Birthday parties in 2020[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093571” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Friends in 2020- The one where everyone stayed at home in quarantine[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093591” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Burnout[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093601” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Brainwash[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093611” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Work from Home[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093621” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Habit[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093631” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Habit[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10093651” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Grief- It comes in waves[/caption] All images by Poorti Purohit. You can follow her work on Instagram @poortipurohit15