Prith Paramsothy MA Illustration
For this project, I wanted to create a body of work that I wish existed when I was younger. I grew up with a disconnect to my culture.My biggest fear growing up was being called a ‘Paki’ so I did everything I could to detach myself from anything that could be considered Asian.
It was only really during my undergrad I began to recognise how rewarding it was having such a rich cultural background. I would say from second year I really began to realise that I can use my art in a beneficial way and a vehicle for my thoughts and feelings. Advocating for equality through my art has really been my passion and I’m getting a lot of fulfilment out of it.
The main thing I’ve noticed is the lack of representation in the mainstream media. Not seeing myself on TV growing up did make me feel insignificant, so that’s why my work recently has the running theme of celebrating people of colour. I’m really proud to be Brown and I no longer feel like I’ve got to hide that away.
I’d say that my work acts as a diary, it’s a commentary on my own experiences. I enjoy merging pop culture with text and realism and through using various mediums my aim is to shine a light on underrepresented people in a fun, fresh way.
