‘I found it hard to get over my broken heart, I thought I never would. Then one night, by the moonlit river, something happened that changed everything.’
The beginning of this short story promises to be exciting and mysterious with may be a touch of the surreal. How will it end? No one knows. It’s part of Saptan Stories, an ongoing seven-weeklong arts event and collaboration between the Oscar-winning British animation studio Aardman Animations, and the British Council, as part of UK India 2017.
The story has been unfolding online over the course of seven weeks; it began on August 2 and is now in its concluding week. The public is invited to send in ideas, and vote, on how the story should continue. “The first line of the story is written by Aardman and was handed over to Indian public to determine what direction the story will take. Each line of the story is then interpreted and illustrated by the seven artists from India and the UK, creating beautiful works of art,” says Alan Gemmell OBE, director, British Council India.
Readers have till September 11, to vote on the next line and send in submissions, the winning line is revealed on September 12 and the illustrations will be shown on September 16.
“The artists were chosen for their exceptional skill set but also based on their massive social media following, and they routinely upload their artworks and share it with their followers,” adds Gemmell. The seven artists — Adrita Das, Priyesh Trivedi, Saloni Sinha, Janine Shroff, Gavin Strange, Gemma Correll, and Tom Mead — visualise the story in their own individual styles. The artwork is quirky and largely in shades of blue, purple, and pink. Correll has a cat in her drawings, Das uses imaginary creatures, Strange’s work is minimal and has a single focus, Sinha’s characters have flaming hair, and Shroff’s work emphasises the cosmos and stars. Mead stands out for his black and white drawings, while Trivedi’s character is heavily inspired by his popular ‘Adarsh Balak’ series.
“It is nice creating something without thinking about the outcome,” says Mumbai-based Adrita Das, 25, a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. “It is challenging because you hope the story is going to go in a way that’s easy to illustrate in your style. The first illustration was the toughest, because I had to choose a colour palette and background that could adapt to whatever direction the story took.”
For Saloni Sinha, 29, a freelance illustrator and designer working in Chennai, it is an exciting, if slightly daunting project. “We didn’t have a brief to begin with. We don’t know how the next line is going to be about. The first one was profound and sad, the second one touched upon fantasy. The elements of the story are constantly evolving,” she says.
The idea was to create an exclusive digital project and showcase some good artwork. “Digitalisation has democratised art by making it easily accessible across financial and geographical barriers. The new generation is about putting across their view point and taking a stand thereby creating a platform for two-way communication which is provided by the digital space making it the go-to-space for stories and storytelling,” adds Gemmell.
After the seventh week, the final story and artwork will be showcased on the Saptan Stories website.
For more details see: saptan-stories.britishcouncil.org.in