Initially, I did not enjoy this. Between the three layers of clothing, winding scarf and the slightly itchy hat, I can barely take care of myself in the subway. How then, was I supposed to capture other uncomfortable passengers with ease, and ink (ease and ink on the subway is a paradox, my friend) for this project? Armed with an arsenal of blacks and grays, I headed to the subway. At first, I looked for excuses. Can I do the exterior of the station? Can I do the lettering and type? How about the empty station? Something, anything‌ that does not move, or make eye contact. Eventually I stopped making excuses and got down to business. And surprisingly, with every passing day, I started enjoying it and started getting better as well. From drawing surreptitiously to making slight eye contact and then wondering, how much eye contact is too much eye contact, this project was like a social experiment. Among the first few drawings, I was sketching a lady on the 1 train at night. After a point, my glances were clearly very noticeable and the woman obviously knew that I was drawing here. She seemed wary, and I wondered, shouldn’t drawing also be about consent? But then again, candid by definition is impromptu. People react differently to being recorded; some are wary, some are blank, some smile and some are spellbound.
I have always thought that drawing on location is one of the most interesting ways to understand a place a little better. I had so many interesting conversations and shared smiles over the course of this project. Somewhere between talking to strangers about missing home, listening to rants and #@!%#! about the MTA and discussing Indian food, I started feeling a little more excited about running into strange stories on everyday journeys, and I started feeling a little more connected to this new city, that is going to be home. All drawings, save the fortune teller who did not let me draw her, are drawn on location. Made between November and December 2018 as part of the Drawing course taught by Carol Fabricatore at the Illustration as Visual Essay MFA Programme at SVA, NYC.
Ishita Jain