Urvi Prabhu (Bengaluru, Karnataka, India)
What We’ve Done
2020
Tracing paper painted with drawing ink, glued to an accordion spine.
6.1” x 4.3” x 1”
Artwork description:
What We’ve Done is a 36-page artists’ book, made with 18 sheets of tracing paper folded in half and glued to an accordion spine, with front and back hardcovers. The pages reflect an earthy colour palette and were painted on with drawing ink, with the rugged edges being torn organically by hand.
In context of global warming and the urgency of having to encourage attention towards rising sea levels, the structure is inspired by the deteriorating beauty within melting glaciers. Made entirely in 10 hours under the apprenticeship of book artist Radha Pandey, the idea for the book sprouted from a poem by Tim Seibles, called ‘First Verse’, as well as from the works of visual artist Fenneke Wolters-Sinke. The book is a standalone piece and was completed in September of 2020.
Artist statement:
Thinking about something truly breath-taking, and all that came to mind was the magnificently humbling beauty of our planet – safeguarded within the smallest blue hidden in expansive snow, or in the shades of yellow cocooned inside the slivers of green leaves. Colossal cliffs rising higher than the eye could see, and cascading calmness in waterfalls. But then came the grey, and the browns that come with dirt; the product of an uncontrolled disease spreading across- us. So I stopped. A moment of silence for all that we’ve done. Prayer for what we must now do.
Artist Bio:
Urvi Prabhu is an undergraduate student pursuing her Bachelor of Design, with roots in multidisciplinary design, currently based out of Bangalore, India. Working primarily with visual and brand design, Urvi dabbles with a wide range of media, while often experimenting with new techniques and tools. With an eye for aesthetics and a strong passion for different genres of music, she finds inspiration within pop culture, as well as in everyday life. Being of Indian descent and possessing an admiration for diversity in ethnic identity, she also practices integrating her heritage and cultural experiences into the approach to her craft. Aside from her developing design practice, she also loves coding, geography, and learning about astrophysics, and occasionally puts up illustrations on Instagram. www.urviprabhu.myportfolio.com