Empathy Echoes

Vedika Kushalappa

Interview by C. VanWinkle
August 6, 2023

Let’s start from the beginning. What was the prompt that you responded to?

I received a poem describing exploring themes of grief, new beginnings, and rebirth. 

What did those themes mean to you? How did you how did you get started on your piece?

I first read the poem a couple of times, and I tried to visualize it by myself, in my head. Certain words stood out and with those words I pinpointed a narrative. I went into the process very intuitively, creating based on what I’m feeling. It was just me in that zone with the poem, creating art from that space. The words “empathy” and “echoes” especially stood out, so I integrated those. And then I was thinking of ways in which symbols in photos can reflect or add an essence to how the art is perceived. I used this photo I took, during a full moon where my friend was lighting up a leaf. For some reason it really resonated well with the poem and the art piece I was making, so I wanted to integrate it somehow. I put that in and just kept drawing on top, adding different layers. And when I felt like it was complete, I stopped. 

That's the hard part. How do you know when it's complete? 

I don't know! It's just an intuition kind of thing. It's a feeling. You see if there's anything else to add in the piece. Sometimes I do add stuff. Because it’s digital, I work in different layers and I can always take back stuff and rearrange it. Sometimes at the end I rearrange layers to make sure it's what I want. Usually it’s a gut feeling and I think, “Okay, I let out everything that I needed to let out, and I'm good. I don't feel like drawing anymore.” So I stop at that. 

That's great. I’ve found that when I work digitally, it's bad for me to be able to undo so easily. I shouldn’t have that much control.

Yeah, working analog, like in film photography or traditional painting, there's no undo, but with digital that's the luxury we have. I still think it's okay because at the end of the day it’s a tool and you can use it to however you want. But I guess a lot of people disagree and say it’s not traditional art. There are always two sides to look at.

True. I do both, though I don't usually mix them together. What about you? Do you usually take photos with film? 

A mixture. Digital or film. I always have both in hand and I try to use both whenever I can, but I mostly do digital just because it’s cheaper. [laughs] It's more affordable! In an ideal scenario, I think I would shoot only film.

You work in several different mediums: photography, drawing, video... How do you decide which medium to use for a given piece? 

I think I use what tool is: one, most accessible to me at that moment; two, what I'm feeling. [laughs] Again, I give a lot of answers like, “Yeah, I just feel like…” [both laugh] But it is that! And then three, they all end up merging together somehow. It's either still, like a 3D or 2D piece, or it's a video piece. I think within those two realms, I eventually end up mixing different mediums like animation and illustration. It just kind of ends up like that and now it's become my style. “Yep! This is what I have, let's just make it, let's not overthink it, maybe it becomes an animation later, who knows?” Just trust the process. 

How does this piece relate to the rest of your work? 

The one thing that kind of links all of my work together is the use of symbology and different patterns. I’ve noticed there are certain patterns that I'm always drawn to, which come up in different pieces. With this piece specifically, I drew a portrait of a person. I’ve noticed that recently I've been drawing more people, and obviously the poem talks about a human experience and going through that, so that’s something I wanted to integrate and explore deeper. 

Also, with the use of words. I recently did an exhibition in Abu Dhabi where I mixed photography with poetry, which is the first time I'm using poetry as an art medium to express a message. So with this prompt being a poem, it just aligned so perfectly, exploring the realm of storytelling and poetry in a fine art perspective. It just came together, joining where my art practice is and where it's going. 

Yeah, that’s fortuitous. We put as little control over that as possible. We change the medium each time, but other than that we try to keep it completely random. The next person in line gets the next prompt on deck. 

I love that! That's the best when things just grow organically and randomly. It’s the best. 

It does seem like that's generally how you roll, you know? You're intuitive and improvisational and you trust the process. So you are located in Dubai, but you are not from Dubai. Is that true? 

Yeah, I'm from India originally. I was born in India and I moved to Dubai when I was eight, so I basically grew up Dubai. 

So is Dubai home?

That's a tricky question. My passport is technically Indian, but I also studied in New York for four years and my closest friends are from New York. So my heart is also there, and then my family's in India, and then I have friends here. So I don't consider just one place home! All these places have different aspects of home to me. 

That’s beautiful. What is the art scene like in Dubai? I don't know anything about it. 

The Dubai art scene has really picked up, especially post-covid. In terms of the artists here, there's some amazing work coming out which I've never seen in any other parts of the world. Dubai is such a multicultural space; you have immigrants from a variety of cultures that influence the collective dialogue and the stories that are shared. So the art that’s coming out here is very different than any other spaces I've seen, since it merges borders.

Also, from a governmental standpoint, there is a lot of encouragement, recognition, and investment into the arts. I think they realize the importance of supporting creatives and artists and the space we hold in the economy. It's been great to be supported by institutions as well that have fellowships or residencies, that cultivate a community around the arts and give opportunities for the next generation influencing the arts landscape in the UAE. For me personally, through the opportunities I was given the past year, I was able to get my foot in the door and learn immensely about the art world.

That’s amazing. Do you use the actual environment there? Much do you work outdoors or incorporate nature? 

I think a lot of my inspiration comes from nature, from what I see or in the environment around me, but I don't necessarily use the outdoors as much per se. Maybe just as a point of inspiration, if it's something I run into or if I go back to India, because I'm from a space that has a lot of greenery around. A lot of my grounding and inspiration is when I go back home and get inspired by my native land. My close circle, my family around me, they ground and situate me. And then I bring it here and do the work here. But of course, everything influences you: the environment you’re in, the people you’re around, different locations. 

I totally agree. Now that you’re on this side of the process, what is your advice for someone else getting started with Bait/Switch? 

I think it would be not to overthink the outcome. Trust the process, don't overthink it, don't try to plan how it might look. Just enjoy the process of creating and see where that takes you.

Call Number: Y108PP | Y110VA.kuEmpa

Vedika Kushalappa is a multidisciplinary artist, mixing mediums such as photography, drawing, and digital painting. Her practice explores the themes of symbology, nature, and the exploration of the human experience. Her artwork creates windows into the unseen, exploring relationships between nature and the spiritual, infused with a sense of contemplation.