6 Indian illustrators who are creating art with a message

By Mihika Agarwal17 February 2020

Their sketches not only serve as visual treats, they also touch upon pertinent issues

Scrolling through Instagram can get a little repetitive. Among all the perfectly curated shots of meals, vacations and celebrity outfits, a lighthearted sketch that talks about current issues can seem like quite a welcome change. Ahead, we list out six illustrators who express themselves in lines, colours, drawings and sketches on Instagram, soothing you visually by bringing the image back to its basic elements, while also poking fun and critique at the state of the world we live in. Dabbling among various socio-political themes––from sexual liberation to feminism and patriarchal norms—these illustrators simultaneously entertain and enlighten through their sketches.

Anjali Mehta

Anjali Mehta sheds lights on self-love, modern living and feminism through her vibrant sketches. The artist derives her sketch prompts from autobiographical experiences and emotions, but ultimately wants to make you feel yours. “I want my audience to think and connect with my work through their own emotions and experiences and to finish the story that I have started,” says Mehta. Her feed welcomes you to a world of single women reading happily on their couches, same-sex couples going about their relationships, and savage critiques of modern-day technology.

Jayesh Joshi

Dystopian themes often pervade the works of Jayesh ‘Jayman’ Joshi, who attempts to revitalise traditional narratives of transcendence and enlightenment through his works. He is passionate about the themes of sexuality and liberation, which come across in the imaginative characters he portrays through his pencil art. Expect unabashed sketches of women experiencing a range of emotions, from love and nostalgia to pleasure.

Gauri Saxena

Radical sketches on feminism and female liberation, and the bold use of colour, are characteristic of Gauri Saxena’s works. A few scrolls down her feed, you can witness her ‘A to Z of a Woman’ series, depicting the patriarchal norms that often bind women in an Indian society. Self-love and body liberation are the other passions of the artist, who frequently posts vector art of women with being at ease with all parts of their bodies.

Pranjali Dubey aka Kalmuhi

Ahmedabad-based doodle artist Pranjali Dubey plays around with vivid colours, quirky drawings and cutting-edge satire. From political issues like fascism to social causes like feminism and patriarchy, her feed touches upon multifarious themes. One of our favourites from the artist’s feed is a retort to the misogynistic demand of a man asking a woman to make a sandwich, for which she sources ‘cheese as soft and fragile as the male ego’, ‘mayonnaise from the store of self-entitled beings’, and ‘veggies freshly harvested from the field of misogyny’.

Asfa Sabrin

An aura of sublimity permeates this Assam-based artist’s works, which touch upon themes like love, vulnerability and what it means to be human, mostly from a female perspective. One of her striking series, ‘Desexualize’, aims to break the media trope around lesbians by showing how their relationships exist outside of the realm of eroticism. Created in collaboration with @queernama, a community of Indian artists and writers, Sabrin’s captions are as piercing as her artworks, featuring moving poetry, meaningful one-liners and at times, sassy phrases.

Alicia Souza

Souza celebrates small and big wins of everyday life, spotlighting relatable issues and situations in her works. The sketches are mostly in black and white, with cute text excerpts that serve as reminders to be kind to yourself, embrace body positivity and do more things that make your soul happy.