Our Pictures,
Our Words
A Visual Journey through the
women’s movement in India
The contemporary women’s movement in India, which began in the late 1970s was vibrant, dynamic, spirited and forceful.
While it protested dark times, violence and misogyny, it also celebrated liberation and solidarity among women. It sang, performed and painted about its victories, its struggles and its failures. Over the years, the women’s movement matured and broadened to include many other subaltern concerns, with the aim to create an egalitarian world for all.
The images were drawn by woman with no formal training as part of communication workshops or were by traditional craftswomen. Very few were part of the formal design industry. This meant the illustration language was not just diverse and evocative but also very powerful and intimate. Our design, we decided, should be subordinate to the illustrative style in the images and provide aframework to allow fo the visuals to speak uninhibitidly.
The images were drawn by woman with no formal training as part of communication workshops or were by traditional craftswomen. Very few were part of the formal design industry. This meant the illustration language was not just diverse and evocative but also very powerful and intimate. Our design, we decided, should be subordinate to the illustrative style in the images and provide aframework to allow fo the visuals to speak uninhibitidly.
This book presents a pictorial history of the complex and multi-layered women’s movement in India through its various visual representations. While Zubaan’s archive of posters make up a large part, the book also includes other forms of text and image such as drawings, pamphlets, reports and brochures.
We worked closely with Lakshmi, one of the authors, to ensure that the narrative and design brought the women’s movement and its concerns within reach of younger readers and a general public who may be curious about feminism but do not know where to look. The design in a way has tried to recreate the very spirit we found in the stories and the images, spirited and playful at times and at others, stark and boldly expressive of harsh truths.
Scope
Curating archival content | Design, Layour of book including Information graphics
Team
Sarita Sundar, Sybil Rodrigues
Client
Zubaan Books