Sugandha Gupta, Creating Tactile Textiles, by Mike Fiorito

I met Sugandha Gupta during a weekend visit to downtown Manhattan with my friend, Steve. I became completely fascinated when Sugandha began telling me about her textile artwork and her unique niche in the industry. Sugandha is from India. But she was born with Albinism, so she is very blonde. Once I better understood her perspective, we decided to talk further about her work.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in New Delhi, India and came to Savannah, GA first to attend graduate school at Savannah College of Art and Design in spring 2016. After graduating in 2018 I moved to New York.

How did you become interested in art?
Growing up I was always highly creative and wanted to pursue a creative career. I would scribble in all my textbooks and notebooks. I spent hours practicing all my art assignments from school. I am visually impaired and therefore whenever my art teacher would assign us still life painting, I would go close to the objects to observe them and then draw from memory. Sometimes I would even bring magnifiers to look at object details. My dedication really impressed my art teacher in High School, and she encouraged me to pursue a student career at National Institute of Design (NID). Which really shaped me as a creative professional and later drove me to art.
Do you think your cultural background has had an impact on your artwork?
Growing up in India I saw beautiful artifacts and intricate drawings and paintings of gods, goddesses and many other folkloric artworks and crafts. I was heavily influenced by Indian culture and traditions when I started learning about them formally at NID. As I started making field trips to Kutch, Jaipur, Kerala, and other parts of India for craft research. I learned stories and meanings behind those works. As a student majoring in textiles, I was fully immersed in the craft sector and problems surrounding it and was and continue to be influenced by it in my approach to my work.

You said that you have issues with your vision? How has this influenced your artwork?
I was born with Albinism, a rare genetic condition which adversely affects my eyesight. I have exceptionally low vision and am sensitive to bright light. I cannot see minute details without visual aids and sometimes even with visual aids. I consider my vision impairment an opportunity as opposed to an obstacle. Even though I have had to navigate challenging circumstances such as not having access to learning in the same ways as others, visual impairment has taught me to be a problem solver and has heightened my ability to empathize with others. I feel blessed to have a perspective different from a larger population and feel that this idea of overcoming a disability or challenge is very ableist. Disability or challenges are not what need to be overcome, rather it is the ignorance and hurdles created by society and ableism.

My work is an amalgamation of my life experiences navigating the world created for fully sighted people and having had no accommodations throughout my learning. I am so grateful to have met a professor named Prof. Immanuel Suresh while studying at NID. He opened my mind to the idea of creating alternative ways of creating access for my learning. This seed he planted in me grew as I grew in my career as a textile designer in India. When I came to the US as a graduate student at Savannah College of Art and Design, I had a clear vision of what I wanted to research and create for my master’s thesis. I wanted to use my alternative ways of learning which I found in my senses of touch and sound and create a body of work through the medium of textiles, which is accessible for a larger audience. This is how my journey of identifying and utilizing my strengths started.

We all have strengths and weaknesses regardless of disability and in reflecting and acknowledging them we can be more efficient and authentic to ourselves and others.

Do you do a specialized kind of artwork?
I am a textile artist and designer. I create tactile and sensory textiles that can be draped on the body or hung on the wall. I work with a variety of materials and techniques such as weaving, felting, sewing etc. I mostly use natural fibers such as cotton, wool, silk, paper, and natural colors that reflect the skin tone of myself and others with Albinism.

Is it intended for a specific audience?
I hope that through my sensory textiles that engage people through multiple senses such as touch, sound, smell, and sight can reach a wide range of audience. I wish to have people of diverse abilities and backgrounds come and experience my work without strict boundaries and with the experience of touch. Just like we gather information around the world through all our senses, I hope that I can offer art to people engaging them through their senses.

Do you do art shows?
Yes, I participate in art shows and exhibitions as and when I get opportunities.

Can you tell me about your company?
I do not have a company yet, however, I have a website where people can go and experience my work visually.

What are your next projects?
I continue to create work and explore new possibilities of creating inclusion through my textiles. I am also an educator of fiber arts currently teaching high school students. I also facilitate disability advocacy and design workshops at museums and colleges.

How can people find you?
People can find and reach me through my website as well as Instagram page:

Sugandha Gupta
https://sugandhainhere.wixsite.com/website/gallery
https://www.inshttps://www.instagram.com/sugandha.in.here/tagram.com/sensory_textiles/

Mike Fiorito
www.fallingfromtrees.info
https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/mike_fiorito