The Interactive installation, JAALI – Patterns of Speech, revolves around the curiosity of how people use languages — an introspection into one’s own thought process and multiplicity of understanding a shared experience through a series of simple questions. Based on the answers, a visual scriptograph is generated that is both unique to an individual and also part of a larger community that creates an interwoven digital archive – Jaali.

Interwoven connections and visual patterns representing an aura of multiplicity, continuity and complexity of identities, vocalizes the concept of ISF’s digital installation, JAALI – Patterns of Speech. Jaali is a perforated screen, typical of Perso-Indian architecture, used as windows or interior room dividers, allowing light and air to enter a room. The intricately carved geometric designs create a subtle play of shadow and light, emphasizing the characteristics of symmetry and the illusion of infinity.

This artwork is interactive, cumulative and participatory. Participants answer four questions about what language(s) they speak, think, feel, and dream in. Unique graphic shapes are then generated, representing their individual Jaali pattern. That pattern then contributes to the vast pattern of the artwork which is constantly evolving. It becomes a searchable dataset, a cartography, and a visual pattern evoking architecture, impacted by its users over time.

Made in collaboration with Mustaali Raj.