She is a freelance journalist, a self taught artist and a poet. She campaigns for Gender and Human Rights. Twenty-six-year-old Sreyashi Ghosh is set to meld art forms together, to spread the message of peace and human rights through her ‘Peace Mode 365' project.
In school, Sreyashi volunteered with various NGOs, spearheaded youth action programmes and protested violence against women. She published her first book, A Cynic's Diary, while still at college in 2004. While doing her bachelor's degree in Arts, she was introduced to International Human Rights by Dr. Amii Omara Otunnu, UNESCO Chair, USA. She represented India at the International Youth Day held at UN Headquarters in 2005 and secured an internship at the Institute of Human Rights, UNESCO, USA. Sreyashi went on to study Gender and International Development in the UK. In the past three years she has worked in Geneva with international organisations such as WHO, ILO and IOM, and Swiss NGOs.
She has compiled her experiences in her recently published book – My Soul on a Platter. “I came back from Rwanda deeply moved and humbled by the interaction with the people there,” says Sreyashi. “Despite the gross violation of human rights issues, the survivors of the genocide felt positive about life.” Sreyashi has described her encounters in verse.
“Some of my poems have inspired my art too. The art and poetry complement each other,” says the writer, whose graphic poetry has been received well in Geneva, where she is based. “ My Soul… motivated me to work on the concept of ‘Words and Colours'. The associations formed with images, words and colours are articulated through my artwork.”
“My life is now woven/Into a patchwork quilt,” she writes in her poem Turning Me into a Patchwork . “Colours of joy and sorrow/Stitched up here and there.” Sreyashi says she has used the concept of ‘Words and Colours' as her signature style for all her graphic exhibitions in Geneva. An African Sunset metamorphoses into an oil and acrylic painting; the loneliness and rejection in This Pain is Killing Me is reflected in a pen and ink artwork.
Sreyashi is currently working on ‘Pen and Ink' series, which features lines and arcs to create a “web of words”. Genocide: To the people of R in her poetry book gave way to Blood, Sweat and Tears , another painting in the series. The paintings have a mesh of words such as ‘Death', ‘Good', ‘Evil and ‘Peace', in them. “I am currently transferring my pen and ink series on to my canvas,” she says.
Connecting creative minds
Sreyashi is working on ‘Peace Mode 365', an international project that aims to make peace “understandable, accessible and approachable”. “The world is distraught with violence and there is so much turmoil. Peace Mode 365 aims at celebrating life and peaceful living through the practice of the arts,” she explains. Sreyashi intends to connect with creative minds to build a network for peace awareness. “It will be a unique platform for peace activists.” Sreyashi points out that the pilot programme will run for 365 days starting September 2011.
Peace Mode 365 was launched in June in Geneva, during Sreyashi's ‘Words and Colours' exhibition held there. American songwriter and musician William Pitt put to music, poems from My Soul on a Platter . Ismael Flessel, a French Caribbean artist/linguist, translated one of her poems into Spanish. My Soul on a Platter is being translated into French, German and Spanish.
An NGO, EOTO World, based in USA, has agreed to be a part of Peace Mode 365. It will, by mobilising other young activists and artists to join in the campaign. Sreyashi, in collaboration with filmmaker Subha Das Moillick, is also working on a photo montage of the works of contributing international writers and artists. She intends to screen this at public places and “build on a culture based on human rights among people”.
For example, later this year, the video will be screened in Times Square (New York) and at the Kalaghoda Film Festival (Mumbai).
Published - August 08, 2011 04:31 pm IST
