Gandhi in Chiapas

Gandhi in Chiapas

This is an image I put together for my friend Aaron Sinift’s 5 Year Plan project. The project entails the making of a handmade book and is meant to be a seva, a service to honor Gandhi. The book will be printed in Chennai, India in collaboration with Tara Books and will feature the work of 32 artists (including me, yay!).  To find out more about the 5 year plan visit: http://www.5yearplan.org/ Some parts of the website are under construction, so be sure to check it out again at a later date.

Gandhi Print

This is the image I made for the book. I tried keeping the colors to a minimum since it is going to be silk-screened. When Aaron told me about the project I immediately wanted to relate it to Mexico, my country of origin and inspiration; and a country with many parallels to India. If you don’t believe me check out this gorgeous photography book: India-México, Vientos paralelos.

I thought of the Zapatista movement, because the idea of self –sufficiency that Gandhi and Aaron’s project are trying to promote very much resonates with that movement for indigenous autonomy in Chiapas. I must admit though, that I am not very up to date with any recent news about the Zapatistas. I appreciate any good leads in the subject, especially about later, rather than early events.