Nausheen Javed
PROFILE OF THE WEEK

Nausheen Javed

Nausheen invented the word ‘Gojagaaji’ when she was merely a kid. It was a term used by her to refer to bad scribbles.

Well into adulthood, she finds herself working under that very identity, the identity of ‘Gojagaaji’.This has been an attempt to revert back into the mind of a child and draw with no inhibitions and preconceived notions of ‘arts'.

The Artist

Nausheen studied Fine Arts in Delhi and did her Post graduation in Animation film design. She is currently studying arts in Cologne Media and Arts school, Germany. Just the way her education has exposed her to the various facets of visual arts, her works reflect the same. Be it character design or illustration, they are flooded with a plethora of elements. When I came across her artworks or ‘scribbles’, the first thought in my mind was that this is a perfect blend of contemporary forms with a very individualistic approach. Her works exude a childlike element yet in an artistically evolved manner.

The Early Steps

‘I’m sure we all loved to draw as children. I used to often get serious scoldings at home since I would draw into my notebooks and school books, forget about homework and exams. My mom would still sneak me out for art competitions or to beautiful book stores. But I was also passionate about writing. Poetry was the best way to write secret diaries. So in class 12th I wrote something and showed it to a friend who was much older, married to a guy in the advertising agency. She suggested that I could do copywriting in advertising….on asking more I then got introduced to this world where “drawing” could be a career. I was completely blown away! ‘

The Work

Her greatest source of inspiration is found in her everyday encounters. She draws what strikes her fancy, what she is obsessed with in the moment. She revels in people watching as a means to subconsciously collect data, along with finding certain happenings in her day to day life pretty amusing. Her works often see a culmination of poetry, words and art in some way. Talking of one such instance she tells me, ‘On my previous journey on a train from Germany to Croatia, I noticed the Passport controller who spent a little more extra time into matching the faces of the people who did not have an E.U passport. I made a small animation and comic about it called ‘Passport please’. Documentaries and radio podcasts also prove to be great source of inspiration for her.

Nausheen Javed

The Mediums

For Nausheen, the mediums seem to be born out of necessity. Nonetheless, they’ve done her more good than harm and inevitably expanded her skill set. ‘When I was in a 25 hour job, there was never time to go back home to my table with a well set up table. Since my boss used to sit next to us, I wanted something that I could hide well. This was when I started working digitally in a small free open software which I could immediately close down [I hope he never sees this]. This software was extremely limited in its features but limitations turned out better for me.. I discovered my desire to break into simpler forms and use of bold colors became easier to achieve.’

She is currently working with thin, fragile, dry charcoals used for her life drawing sessions, which she also claims, stemmed out of a no option scenario.  

The Future

‘I’m currently working on an animation film with oil on glass. The film is about “them people”.

It is based on a poem I wrote, which is called ‘Them people’. It is again inspired by where, when and how these feelings; about the differences between us and them are developed, propagated, practised in each of us.’

TEXT Supriya Jain

Nausheen Javed

NAUSHEEN JAVED