CHENNAI: Architecture for a profession. Theatre for passion. Social and community services for a hobby. Priyanka Ulagnathan, a performance and installation artist, has been juggling between different fields and living the life of a nomad for the past few years. The architect has been on her feet and backpacking to various places to understand the nature of work people do daily.
“Most of what I learned was on field. But all I received for it was backlash. If you don’t have a profession-oriented lifestyle or a steady income, it’s considered unsuccessful in society. I wanted to change this opinion and give a big shout-out to those who make bold and unconventional choices in their lifestyle. Revamp by Aaval was born out of this last year,” shares Priyanka, who also manages an independent band called Seinnor.
This is her first collective project. She has collaborated with 30 people from diverse working backgrounds for this postcard series. A sound engineer, artist, artisan, entrepreneur...all are brought under this platform merely based on their choices. “These are people I’ve worked with in the past. The minute I put out my initiative on Instagram, all of them supported me. The postcards will contain a representative image of what they do and a few words about their work behind every card. We hope to spread a positive message out of this work,” shares Priyanka, who wants to courier a copy of 30 postcards to every participant who has contributed.
In this personal venture, there are no gender or age barriers. She’s open to more participants sharing their journey. “These are multidimensional personalities who are sharing their stories. My fieldwork has turned me into a socially conscious person, who is aware of the political and social scenario. I’ve also chosen people for the project accordingly. One of them is Sanjana, founder of Izhai. Her core value is working with sex workers and help eradicate the social stigma around them. Saran Raj is another artist who addresses social and political topics through artworks. He explores various mediums such as sculpting, painting, illustration, and etching,” says Priyanka.
Once India battles the virus, she wants to collaborate with India Post to keep the hobby of sending and collecting postcards alive. “I’ve sponsored this project. I’d love to get support from people for a bigger cause when I expand this project,” says Priyanka. More details on her Insta page: Revamp by Aaval