top of page
IFA: UNBOUND & UNTETHERED

UX RESEARCH, UX DESIGN, VISUAL DESIGN, PROTOTYPING
The female body exists as a complex, conflicted, and culturally coded site of experience. In India, female-specific pain, illness, and experience is routinely dismissed, misdiagnosed, and stigmatised as psychosomatic, erratic, and emotionally rooted within largely patriarchal medical spheres. This Foundation Project is implemented by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) under the Arts Research programme, made possible with support from BNP Paribas India.
DURATION
5 months
ROLE
Research and Design Intern

Examining the complex and elusive quality of female-specific pain and subjective patient experience against standardised diagnostic testing/clinical procedures, the project explores why symptoms of poorly understood invisible conditions such as Lyme disease, Endometriosis, PCOS, Fibromyalgia, and Complex Autoimmune Illnesses that predominantly affect the female population are routinely missed or negated amongst primary care physicians and medical professionals. The project intends to unpack and extend its inquiry through gathering and documenting shared experiences around female-specific pain and illness, drawing from personal narratives Devika has encountered in her journey, within her family, friends, extended circles and online communities.
PHASE 1
GATHERING A VISUAL ARCHIVE—MEDICAL IMAGERY, MANUSCRIPTS, CHARTS, AND DRAWINGS
PREPARING BODY CHARTS FOR WORKSHOPS
PHASE 2
PARTICIPANT BODY CHARTS WITH MARKINGS—AFTER CONDUCTING WORKSHOPS

710917167.454426

SHANTASHREE(2)

V

710917167.454426
1/7
CONVERSATION NOTES FROM
PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS

Screenshot 2023-07-17 at 14.51.45

Screenshot 2023-07-17 at 14.54.01

Screenshot 2023-07-17 at 14.58.43

Screenshot 2023-07-17 at 14.51.45
1/6
SPREADS FROM BOOK BASED ON NOTES FROM PARTICIPANT INTERVIEWS
MOTION EXPERIMENTS AND MATERIAL EXPLORATIONS
SEE MORE
PHASE 3
RESEARCH JOURNAL
SEE FULL JOURNAL
Indian Foundation for the Arts(IFA), Unbound & Untethered, 2023
bottom of page