Reference: INNISS012
Title: What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition
Date: 2021
Author: Jahnavi Inniss
Details: Book cover design for Emma Dabiri's What White People Can Do Next – In this incisive, radical and practical essay, Emma Dabiri - acclaimed author of Don't Touch My Hair - draws on years of research and personal experience to challenge us to create meaningful, lasting change.
Media: Publication and Embroidered process design
Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Description: I always strive to embed meaning in my work through my creative decisions and artistic processes. I was able to adapt my unique style to create a cover which directly relates to the author's ideas within the book which feels extremely rewarding. My practice is quite experimental, I love learning through making and so I'm always trying out different techniques to figure out the best way to communicate the message. As this was the first time I've ever done embroidery, I was a bit anxious about my technique and the little details as I know whatever I created had to be done to an extremely high standard. However, seeing the positive reception is incredibly reassuring and encourages me to continue to experiment with different mediums that I'm unfamiliar with or are outside of my 'comfort zone'.

Reference: INNISS040
Title: Representation [Black British History Quilt]
Date: 2020
Author: Jahnavi Inniss
Details: Quilt
Media: Textiles
Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Description: Black people have made significant contributions to British society; however, these contributions have been left unrecognised. Upon doing extensive research, I noticed frequent silent gaps in the timeline. I adapted the cultural technique of quilting to give visibility to the many unrecognised Black people that contributed to British society during 17th and 19th centuries.

In doing so I aimed to dismantle the ‘single story’ which suggests that Black people had only arrived in Britain after the wave of immigration following World War II in the late 1940s. I also aim to provide a platform of visibility which highlights the positive contributions that Black people have been making to British society for centuries.

Reference: INNISS003
Title: Representation [Website]
Date: 2020
Author: Jahnavi Inniss
Details: Quilt Directory
Media: Website
Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Description: In addition to creating my 5-metre-long quilt, I created an accompanying online directory where the audience can discover the stories of the people featured on the quilt as well as submit anybody else who they feel deserves recognition. I decided not to hem/seal the fabric as the quilt remains incomplete, symbolising the many people that are yet to be discovered and added.

Reference: INNISS004
Title: Black Outdoor Art Project
Date: 2021
Author: Jahnavi Inniss
Details: Featured on billboards in Clapham, Shepard's Bush, Cambridge Heath and Walthamstow.
Media: Installation
Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Description: Black people have made significant contributions to British society; however, these contributions have been left unrecognised. Upon doing extensive research into the different ways to showcase Black British history, I noticed frequent silent gaps in the timeline. I adapted the cultural technique of quilting to give visibility to the many unrecognised Black people that contributed to British society during 17th and 19th centuries.

In doing so I aimed to dismantle the ‘single story’ which suggests that Black people had only arrived in Britain after the wave of immigration following World War II in the late 1940s. I also aim to provide a platform of visibility which highlights the positive contributions that Black people have been making to British society for centuries.

In addition to creating my 5-metre-long quilt, I created an accompanying online directory where the audience can discover the stories of the people featured on the quilt as well as submit anybody else who they feel deserves recognition. I decided not to hem/seal the fabric as the quilt remains incomplete, symbolising the many people that are yet to be discovered and added.

Reference: INNISS005
Title: Representation [Critical Report]
Date: 2020
Author: Jahnavi Inniss
Details: Submitted for BA Graphic Communication Design Thesis 2020
Media: Accademie Paper
Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Description: “Through history, the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness.” W.E.B. Du Bois

Reference: INNISS014
Title: Representation [Quilting Experiments]
Date: 2020
Author: Jahnavi Inniss
Details: Quilting Experiments
Media: Film [0m39s]
Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Description: Black people have made significant contributions to British society; however, these contributions have been left unrecognised. Upon doing extensive research, I noticed frequent silent gaps in the timeline. I adapted the cultural technique of quilting to give visibility to the many unrecognised Black people that contributed to British society during 17th and 19th centuries.

In doing so I aimed to dismantle the ‘single story’ which suggests that Black people had only arrived in Britain after the wave of immigration following World War II in the late 1940s. I also aim to provide a platform of visibility which highlights the positive contributions that Black people have been making to British society for centuries.

Reference: INNISS006
Title: Housmans Bookshop on Caledonian Road
Date: 2021
Author: Jahnavi Inniss
Details: 5 Caledonian Rd, London N1 9DY
Media: Photograph
Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Description: Whenever I felt de-motivated or needed to get some fresh air from being at uni all day, I’d walk into Kings Cross and spend some time looking around Housmans Bookshop on Caledonian Road. It’s an independent, non-profit bookshop which sells ‘radical’ literature. I find it inspiring to see the works of others who believe in the same principles and politics as I do. I get inspiration and new ideas as I see the ways in which other people produce work which engages and educates audiences on various political topics through the medium of books, zines, posters, badges, newspapers and graphic novels.

Reference: INNISS007
Title: Seize the Time
Date: 1970
Author: Bobby Seale
Details: Seize the Time is a first-person narrative written from the perspective of Bobby Seale who recounts the story of the Black Panthers through conversational style prose.
Media: Publication
Credit: wikipedia.org/Seize_theTime(book)

Description: Sieze The Time is Bobby Seale's, a longtime activist and co-founder of The Black Panther Party, riveting first-person account on the evolution of The Party as a national organisation.

Reference: INNISS008
Title: Personal Colourful Notebook
Date: 2020
Author: Jahnavi Inniss
Details: Artist’s notebook
Media: Stationary
Credit: Courtesy of the artist

Description: My personal colourful notebook where I write down and mind map every single one of my ideas for my projects.

Reference: INNISS009
Title: Black Panther Party Press
Date: 1969
Author: Emory Douglas
Details: The Black Panther Party Press grassroots publishing
Media: Image
Credit: wikipedia.org/Black_Panther_Party

Description: I found this inspiring because the Black Panther Party establishing its own publishing press emphasises the importance of grassroots publishing as a way of uniting and empowering marginalised and underrepresented communities. It serves as a tool to give a voice to people whose issues aren’t spoken about in mainstream media outlets. It was cost and time effective and was a crucial way to disseminate information which educated and informed groups within targeted communities. I find the content inspiring because as a manifesto, it clearly affirms the Black Panther Party’s core principles and demands for the right of the African American community to be treated with the full dignity and respect that all American subjects deserve.