Indu Harikumar gets women to discuss stories around their breasts sans shame
Last month, artist and illustrator Indu Harikumar launched a new project on Instagram, titled #identitty, where she invited women to share stories around their breasts. "Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, because we are conditioned to be discreet given the shame associated with breasts.
Forget others, you're not even allowed to acknowledge it to yourself," says Harikumar, who in 2016 went viral with #100IndianTinderTales in an effort to crowdsource stories on how Indians use Tinder. Since then, she has used her Instagram handle, @induviduality, to engage with users asking them to share their thoughts on sex, sexuality and dating. This project was a product of an innocuous online chat with an Instagram user earlier this year.
"The woman spoke about what it meant to be top-heavy, and how men were fixated with her breasts. I, on the other hand, had grown up battling the shame of being flat-chested," she says. Their experiences were different, yet felt so similar. "So, I thought why not turn this into a project," she adds.
The results have been impressive. In the last few weeks, Harikumar has made 13 illustrations, where the user - identified by initials - shares her story, and based on the experience, Harikumar makes the illustration. The first post, shared by 'S', features a brown-skinned woman with dark hair taking a selfie in a buttoned down blue shirt. "My breasts have been the source of most sexual compliments I get, but they have also been frustratingly large and the source of shame, embarrassment, and feeling ugly... The idea that larger breasts are attractive seems to me to be a cruel lie," it reads. She then goes on to talk about her journey to acceptance.
As an artist rooted in the Indian experience, Harikumar has ensured that the illustrations are of "colour". "Most of our knowledge of anatomy is subconsciously informed by porn featuring white-skinned people. People of colour are grossly under represented." Unlike her earlier projects which have been on paper, this is her first digital project.
Indu Harikumar
The process usually begins with Harikumar asking women to send her a picture of their bust. "They can choose the way they want to dress them up; in a bra, lace, fabrics, mehendi, cup them or even a Mandakini. Of course, I ask them to do only what feels safe and comfortable." Once done with the illustration, which takes approximately two days, she deletes all the images.
The detailing in the drawings is hard to miss. "When I'm drawing, I forget about the stories. For me, it's fascinating to be able to do justice to such a beautiful part of our body. I haven't looked at a lover's body with such interest," she laughs.
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