Interview With Artist Indu Harikumar
Indian artist and storyteller Indu Harikumar's first major illustration project all started with Tinder. After her own disconcerting experiences on the popular dating app, she put an ask out to see what other people had to say, too, but what she didn't expect was for her Facebook messages to blow up, flooded with personal stories which ultimately turned into a community and then her project, #100IndianTinderTales. Now it's a year later and Indu is back with a brand-new endeavor called #BodyOfStories, which shares stories of sexuality, gender, and body image issues. Many of the personal tales involve body shaming, and Indu reveals that there have been some days when she thought about renaming it "Our Fat Stories" as she says nearly 60 percent of the stories she receives are from women who feel fat and unlovable. Indu's goal? To turn these stories of shame and self-loathing into love and acceptance. We had the privilege of talking to Indu about her artwork and what she learned from the project — plus what advice she has for women feeling insecure in their bodies. Check out her stunning work (and words) ahead.
Illustrated by Indu Harikumar1/7Teen Vogue: Why did you decide to do this project?
Indu Harikumar: Last year I did a crowdsourced art project called #100IndianTinderTales. I was 36 and had used Tinder in Vienna where my dateability was very high but back home, I saw a considerable drop. I was no longer an exotic nobody; here people would google me and send me links of my work. It was a tad disconcerting and honestly, creeped me out.
I put out the call for stories, purely out of curiosity to know how other fellow Indians were faring on the dating app and to find new themes to draw. But being in India where we don't talk about sex, I thought I was being very ambitious; why would anyone want to open up and be vulnerable to a stranger?
Illustrated by Indu Harikumar2/7IH: But what followed was overwhelming. There I was on Facebook messenger with people screaming for my attention with deeply personal stories, there was trust and there was no way I could say I am not doing this anymore. With each story, the project brought people together and soon it became a community of people saying ‘me too.' It provided me with inspiration, helped me deal with my own demons and gave me press from around the world, which lead to work outside of my network. When the project neared its end, I heard from several readers saying how I should continue doing it, I considered it and ran a story or two but then I decided to discontinue after the 102nd story.
For all the wonderful stuff that came my way through #100IndianTindertales, it was also very emotionally taxing; it was like playing shrink to random strangers, to give my time away and engage with other people's problems. So I took a break and announced #BodyOfStories which covers sex, sexuality, gender and body issues and doesn't promote a dating app for free. To be honest, it was my way of finding comfort in the fact that I am not the only misfit; these stories fill me with courage and inspiration. They make me aware and connect with people I will probably never meet and that's what I hear from my readers too.
Illustrated by Indu Harikumar3/7TV: What was the most common response you got?
IH: There have been days when I have thought I should rename it "Our fat stories" because almost 60% of the stories I get are from women feeling fat and unlovable and another 30% from women who think they are too dark and unattractive and shaming related to these two. Over time I began to feel saturated reading stories of women dealing with fat shaming, but then someone sends in a story about a completely different issue and that sets the ball rolling. When one person starts to share, it becomes okay for others to do the same.
Illustrated by Indu Harikumar4/7TV: What was the most surprising?
IH: Though this is my second crowdsourced project, I am still surprised at how okay people are about being vulnerable to a complete stranger. But there is a flip side too because once people start sharing, there are absolutely no boundaries.
Illustrated by Indu Harikumar5/7TV: If someone is feeling insecure about their body, or they are being body shamed, do you have any advice?
IH: Given that the list of attributes needed to be considered stunning / beautiful / attractive is ever growing, I am not sure I have advice to cover it all. I have my own body improvement project where some days I exercise rigorously, but on most days, I remind myself of what my Viennese Tinder date told me when I shied away from eating cake, "beauty needs space."
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