fickle tickle

Illustrated Behavior-Mapping Series by Pallavi Chattoraj

Humor has its many forms and this project categorically dives into self-deprecating humor i.e humor where the butt of the joke becomes the self. This form of humor, as all things do, started out sparingly but the novelty wears off quickly as it increasingly becomes more of an automated response. And this is a convincing meter for analysing how our generation deals with themselves.

Imagined and curated as a deck of cards, this series focuses on the perils of self-deprecating humor. The narrative is built around eight focal behavioral acts represented by hand-drawn clown illustrations, accompanied with popular deprecating quotes. These acts are not mutually exclusive and are permeable, overlapping threads that are reflective of a society at large. The narrative allows for familiarity while attempting to create recall when any of us use it in the future.

The urgency of this project lies in a simple truth- An automated response’s prerequisite is unthinking acceptance. And any weapon (here: humor) wielded without thought is infinitely threatening.

#QuestionTheJoker

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editor's note

Volume 09

clay | chlorophyll | crimson

Grass is green where you water it. LC’s words float along over Misch’s guitar. It’s a phrase that feels so obvious, and I’m sure those who tend to gardens know this more than most, but it seems to land more than before. The impact noticeable, memorable, echoing through my being. Perhaps we’re ingrained to think it’s greener elsewhere. This patch is the problem and not whether we’re watering it. The key is in the watering. How we go about this practice is what defines our patch of grass. No matter where we go, our patch is, perhaps, the same. Some attributes and characteristics have been changed but the essence is the same: Us.

Stepping into Volume 09 of imprint, marks our third year. I am learning that this patch of green that we have been tending to for the last several years will mould, shift, and sculpt. This depends on how we water it and allow it to take its own shape. It has already happened in wonderfully unexpected ways. There is only so much structure or shape we can predetermine. Beyond that, it will absorb what it needs and reject all that is unnecessary. And perhaps, in this practice, we are changed. Our grass is watered as we water that of our writing, our image making, our practice, our magazine.

From light to dark, rigid to supple, new to old, there is so much in between that is bright and vibrant and unexpected. The practice of our magazine has focused on being open to what we receive; being open to deeply listening to what is shared; being open to work taking us to new journeys. This volume, and this year, will be no different. We will continue tending to it as we have done, learning along the way, from past seasons and present ones.

And yet, I know it will be entirely different.
But still.
It will be watered.