Exploring identity, gender and mythology, Osheen Siva's work challenges dystopian tropes with hope and resilience.
In this Q&A with writer Vyshnavee Wijekumar, Siva discusses ancestry, futurism and the inspirations behind their work in The Future & Other Fictions exhibition at ACMI
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Vyshnavee Wijekumar: When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
Osheen Siva: Oh, I feel like I've known for a while. I just didn't think it would be a viable career choice. I did my undergraduate degree in Fashion and worked as a graphic designer after that.
Until the COVID19 pandemic, I was doing several other jobs. In a weird way, the pandemic gave me space and time to explore what I actually wanted to do.
I started uploading things as an online archive for me, and that kind of gained traction. It gave me some hope that I could do it full time as an illustrator or as a visual artist.
VW: What influences have shaped your art practice?
OS: I think my main incentive is to explore more on identity and what I actually want to say. Where do I belong? This led me to questions around family history and background. Which is where the anti-caste theme comes in.
I'm also very much inspired by sci fi. I grew up watching The Jetsons and Futurama; animation seemed like such an enticing space to explore because the narratives are limitless.
When the lower caste community or the Dalit community gets presented in mainstream media, the focus is on the trauma we're enduring, which is obviously very much needed. But I think it's also important to see a future for us. We also contain joy and experience lots of other things that all human beings go through.
VW: What role does your heritage and where you've lived play in your work, and how you interpret the future?
OS: I grew up in different places. In fact, I was in a different school in India almost every year and my parents were always in Taiwan or China – I finished part of middle school and high school in China. I was always moving and rebuilding relationships and acclimating to a certain environment – life was always a bit transient.
As I became older and had a platform to do whatever I wanted to do, questions around belonging and identity emerged. I often go back to inquire and research on Vellore, where my family is currently and are from, and Thiruvannamalai where my dad belongs. It's always nice to go back home and document or archive images from there.
I have been archiving at Tamil Veedu, a collection of colours, patterns, typography and life from Vellore and Thiruvannamalai. I often refer to it in my practice.
VW: What is your creative process? How do you approach depicting the humans and landscapes in your work?
OS: My process depends on what kind of medium I'm using. For instance, if it's public art and murals, oftentimes they are situated in the area itself. So, I start out with taking photos of the neighbourhood, of characters and people that are around, and then make a sketch and present on the wall. They are more or less from one specific kind of universe, which is Dalit futurism. They're often inspired by family members and also imagined relatives and ancestors and speculated into the future. What might they look like if certain things hadn't changed in the past? A lot of Tamil culture and Dalit history mixed together.
VW: You incorporate Tamil script in your work. What does that signify?
OS: I've been fascinated by hand-painted type in Tamil Nadu. You don't see it as often anymore, because most things have been digitalised and hand painting itself is a dying art. But in Vellore and in Thiruvannamalai, many signs on stores and restaurants are still painted by hand. I'm inspired by it and try to emulate it.
VW: How do the people in your work represent the places where you grew up?
OS: A lot of them are inspired by strong matriarchal characters in my family.
I try and depict certain rituals that are recognised as caregiving and domestic care: braiding each other's hair, or the art of making Kolam. Or just intimacy between woman and the family is interesting to me. I try and not gender it too much. I am non-binary, so it's weird for me to make it into a binary form. My characters embody many different things. I create ones that live in their own community and thrive off of each other.
VW: How does your work reflect your perspective on the future?
OS: When we talk about sci fi, it always veers towards dystopian or cyberpunk, which have negative connotations – ”technology taking over”. But I'm mainly inspired by Afrofuturism/punk, which looks at the future through a lens of hope and interconnectedness or togetherness. I wouldn't call it Utopic, because Utopia has its own pros and cons and isn't necessarily attainable. But what I think might be possible is people working together or being more in touch with nature or creating ideas of hope and survival.
VW: How is gender represented in your work and how do you think it will be discussed in the future?
OS: I think India specifically has a history of non-binary characters, either in mythology, in folklore or in reality. Somewhere along the line we had censorship and this binary way of thinking. Essentially, it harkens back to what we already had: thinking about gender in a more open way. I think fluidity also talks to being oneself fully. You're not being constrained to what is necessarily there in society or what is being told to you. There’s lots of examples in nature – for me, it's just a more natural way to be.
VW: Futurism in South Asia feels under-explored. From your perspective, what is South Asian futurism?
OS: There has been a stereotyped way of looking at South Asian art and narratives through the Western lens. But I think it’s getting better. There are so many creatives that I know who are working in a similar space — in art, in music, in all forms. South Asian futurism is not necessarily something that's explored a lot, but it is up-and-coming.
Sci fi as a genre was based on a Eurocentric perspective – we didn’t necessarily imagine people of colour or difference existing in the future. So, a lot of nuance is needed in that area.
VW: Your work explores gender, language and culture from an anti-colonial, anti-caste perspective. Why do you think it's important to approach it in that way?
OS: Approaching my work from an anti-colonial, anti-caste perspective is essential because gender, language and culture have been deeply shaped by histories of oppression, erasure and imposed hierarchies. Colonialism and caste systems have dictated whose voices are heard, whose histories are preserved, and whose identities are validated. By centring marginalised narratives, I aim to challenge these power structures and reclaim spaces for self-definition.
VW: Have you ever felt that the intention behind your work, or who you are as an artist, has been misinterpreted? And how have you dealt with that.
OS: Because my work is visually explosive, it tends to immediately catch the audience's attention. This also means that oftentimes my practice gets assumed into a psychedelic space which isn't necessarily my intention. However, when one engages with it on a deeper level you excavate the themes and intersections of history, caste and gender.
VW: What are you hoping audiences will gain from your work in ACMI’s The Future & Other Fictions Exhibition?
OS: The three pieces of work that I loaned to ACMI were part of my latest solo show at Bonington Gallery, Nottingham called Karuppu, meaning darkness or black in Tamil. The show explored counter-mythology through hybrid characters that speak on India’s arbitrary caste system. They are inspired by animals that are prevalent in existing Hindu mythology, which I wanted to reclaim and reinvent.
In The Future & Other Fictions, one of the artworks features a crow on a character’s shoulder. The crow in Tamil culture signifies our ancestors. The second character is intertwined with a root system from a fungi colony and with capillaries in our bodies. I wanted to use that as a metaphor for exploring togetherness and similarities with our environment and nature. The third character has a Tamil script on the back of a futuristic suit – something we don't see that often, either.
All of them exist in this futuristic world where they're warrior characters, but using the environment around them as their fuel.
VW: If you were to write a piece of speculative fiction, what perspectives, fears and hopes for the future would you convey?
OS: I'm working on a graphic novel with a friend whose professional focus is on Dalit feminist futurism. We're still at a very nascent stage, but the story connects to Dalit history and alternate history. What if one particular event in the past happened differently? How would that change society and the community now? And in the future?
VW: What are you watching or playing at the moment?
OS: 3 Body Problem. I am, in fact, midway through watching Jurassic Park. I recently saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as well. So, just sci fi things.
I'm also into animation, so I go back to Futurama or The Simpsons or Archer.
I've been meaning to get into it gaming. My graphic novel might be made into a game as well in the future. So, I will begin some research soon.
– Vyshnavee Wijekumar is a freelance writer for The Age, The Saturday Paper and ABC Online. She's also makes regular appearances on community radio station Triple R. She's passionate about empowering people, communities and future generations, and creating space for challenging conversations.
Explore the artworks that shape tomorrow in The Future & Other Fictions
Exhibition closes Sun 27 Apr 2025
Discover the people, costumes and artworks that shape tomorrow. Explore intricate sets, props and concept art from Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner 2049, The Creator, and more.