Tales of intimacy

City-based artist and illustrator Indu Harikumar made headlines in 2016 with her 100 Indian Tinder Tales where she posted stories on the kind of relations one builds through dating apps. This crowd-sourced project kept next to Picasso’s work at the Kunsthalle Bremen museum in Germany till earlier this month; lead her to chart new horizons.

Harikumar who regularly posts questions around sexuality, mental heath and relationships on social media, often has people writing to her about their personal experiences. It was during one such conversation with a stranger, who shared her struggles of being heavy breasted, that the artist decided to pursue her current crowd-sourced project — Identitty.

“She shared that since she has a heavy-bust, men only saw her breasts and nothing else. Then I narrated my experience that I was skinny till 35. In my 20s, I was asked what I am going to give my husband because I am so flat chested,” recall Harikumar, adding, “When we both shared our experiences, I realised that though our experiences are different, they are similar in nature.”

After much deliberation, she took to Instagram inviting women to share stories around their breasts along with a picture. Started in January, Harikumar has so far posted 15 such stories with colourful illustrations and just the initials of the name. For now, she has more than 60 stories in her inbox.

“When I put out questions, I add some basics as to what I am looking for, but mostly it is very open ended. I did a project last year where I asked people to send me pictures and share stories of their favourite body part and I was taken aback with all the images. So for Identity, I asked women to intimate me when they are to send a nude,” says the illustrator who has listed the points to follow on her Instagram — Induviduality.

For all the illustrations, the artist asks the writers where they wish to be drawn and once she completes the painting, she sends them back for a review. “I want to make them feel safe. If they think they are recognisable, I am happy to change it,” she asserts. However, she wasn’t even ready to draw until she started receiving stories.

With a large chunk of women from India and abroad writing to her, Harikumar is quite surprised at women trusting her with their stories. “A story I really enjoyed reading and illustrating was that of an Odissi dancer. Then there is one ANR (Adult Nursing Relationship) story that I find interesting, it has a poem. When I put out my story about ANR, I got a message saying ‘I am so happy someone is talking about ANR in India’,” she shares.

Another story of a girl with a large breast size shared how at a young age she wore small sized bras to avoid the unwanted attention her breasts get and continues to not wear t-shirts.  “But she says that when she undresses in front of a man, the wonder in his eyes is amazing. She wanted to be drawn in a bedroom because that is where she feels the most powerful.  I was so happy to hear people owning their bodies,” shares Harikumar.

While a lot of her work comes from personal experiences, the artist reveals that had she known that things would reach this far, she wouldn’t have started it in first place. “New things scare me. What has happened over the time was not my intention. But I think the reason I am able to do this is because I am completely unaware of what is happening and I am so involved in the work I am doing,” she concludes.