CHENNAI: During peak summer, most of our Instagram feeds were blessed with the presence of a reel of a paati reminding us to drink water as she offers a pod of orange. The thanni kudi video soon went viral, and appreciation started pouring in for Adhithi Harikumar. In a chat with CE, she tells that all this started because she was missing her grandmother.
Trying to relive the moments spent with her grandmother, Adhithi, an artist, 2D generalist and animator, began putting efforts to bring her back to life through her art. “Initially, the paati sketch started off as a character animation exercise. While I was practising, I was documenting whatever I did on my Instagram handle...it started like that,” she shares.
Losing one of her grandmothers during Covid, Adhithi found solace in art. “I was trying to relive the old moments. I realised much later that this could be one of my outlets to relive the love and warmth she used to show. For that matter, I think animation as a medium has given us the power to bring our drawings to life,” she adds.
Her recreation of her memory with her paati, struck a chord with people across the globe. “It was cool to find that so many other people from different parts of the world irrespective of where they come from and who they are, found the whole grandma emotion universal and a lot of them resonated with it. Some people would also send me messages reminiscing the moments they had with their grandmoms. It was all a wholesome cloud,” she says.
Creative
collaborations
Surrounded by creative people while growing up, it is her father that she looks up to. “My dad is an artist as well. We jam on silly ideas and that’s how it usually goes. During Covid, we started an Instagram page called Kural Made Simple where we take one Thirukkural and try to interpret it in a simple way. My dad interprets it and I try to make an illustration out of my understanding,” she says.
Posting her works on Instagram has helped her bag a few projects as well. Her recent project was producing animated videos for Kappa Originals. “It is called the CoCreation album which several artists have contributed. All songs are from different genres, the whole thing is a beautiful mixture and I got to do some animated loops for four tracks,” says Adhithi. Apart from this, the artist has worked on some music videos — Odathey Oliyathey by MS Krsna, Behold by Bhars, and concept art for Tata Tea Premium commercial.
Having enjoyed working on the three-minute-long music video sung by her sister — Behold by Bhars — Adhithi says, “The video was completely my concept and I had a nice time going through that whole surreal space.”
Adhithi is a self-taught artist, learning from other creators’ work. “I study the artist’s work and try to see what I can improve in my craft through that,” she says.
Working independently for two years now, she says “I kind of crave to be in a learning environment that is also collaborative and to be with people who share similar interest.” In future the artist looks forward to working with a team and brainstorming ideas.
Explaining that all her projects start with a simple sketch, she draws inspiration from people, things, gestures, behaviours, and conversations. “This is something that I tell myself when I work on a project: don’t get ready, get started. There has been a lot of scenarios where I just sit and wait for the idea to come but all I have to do is to start sketching and get into the process, and the flow of work sets in,” she says. Most of her other artworks also revolve around the brain and the mind.
Now, Adhithi is working on few projects, and she is working on building a workspace for herself. “I just took a break because I have been working on some heavy projects I couldn’t find time to get back. I am thinking of posting another paati soon. It’s been a while” she signs off.
Instagram: @adhithiharikumar