Words by Tegan Jaimie Gallacher
Featuring Rosalind and her illustration work

Personal reflection fuels the work of Scottish illustrator Rosalind Shrinivas. Photographed in the LUNCH debut drop, she tells us more about her expressive practice as we give her free rein to graffiti the images in unique Rosalind style.

Acting as a portal to her mind, you could spend a long time staring at an illustration by Shrinivas and keep discovering more. Her highly-detailed intricate line drawings are packed with hidden narratives, messages and symbols, brought together with digital manipulation. She says, “I used to journal a lot, one of my favourite things to do is evaluate a life quality to the furthest extent, how I react to things and why I react that way. I guess I couldn’t always put it into words perfectly, so for example, I’ve journaled this random set of words, how am I going to make this into something that is conceptualised and almost a form of therapy. For me it was like art therapy, so I would write these lists of words each day and I would use that to create a piece of art.”

Studying Fashion Design marked her first exposure to illustration. Watching her tutor draw was a catalyst to her interest in the medium. “It wasn’t photo realism in any way and I just loved how free it was because it was a piece of art. If you detached it from the fashion illustration, it still was a beautiful piece of art. I was like, I want to be able to look at an image and translate that fast in a style that I’m proud of and know that I can create something very strong.”

Since the years that have passed from her studies and self proclaiming ‘failing to get a design graduate job’, Shrinivas focused her attention on refining her skills. Relatively self-taught, her work is undisputedly hypnotic; with a multitude of cloned surrealist faces, etched in jet black, that fill the canvas. “I would look at the face and think what are the features that I like the most? So cheekbones, heavy eyebrows, the eyes, and then the hair texture; so I sort of started with that. And then I started drawing tears which was like my own connection to my emotions. And I wanted to weirdly express that at that time.”

With few exceptions, Shrinivas’ work is strictly in black and white. When asked the deliberateness behind her palette of choice, Shrinivas is quick to make the link back to her emotive self. “I found it just resonated with me more and I see everything in my life kind of in black and white as well. I do a lot of things that are heaven and hell, dark kind of pieces, I think that harks to that too. The narrative I’m creating is very emotional, sometimes dark, but turning it into something beautiful, you know, a negative into a positive – the black and white kind of represents the negative and the positive, I guess.”

Shrinivas’ work is a veneration for highly emotive expression. Personal contemplation rife throughout her work, therefore when LUNCH asked her to draw over the series of photographs of the illustrator herself it was undoubtedly a cathartic experience. “I looked at photos of the heart and the organs and biological diagrams which I feel obviously links to your feelings, your heart and how you process things. It really works well with the idea of me almost laying myself bare in the photos and who I am as a creative.”

As for what’s next for Rosalind, while the pandemic has put a halt to exhibitions she can’t wait to produce larger scale work for a tangible art experience again. “It’s nice to see a full reaction in-person and watching somebody look at your work, coming up close and looking at all the details is even more satisfying.” But until that time comes you can continue to follow her work digitally on her instagram @rshrini and via her website