Self-expression in Noopur Choksi's Digital Art

I studied Graphic Design for my undergraduate degree at the National Institute of Design (NID) in India, which provided a foundation for me to turn my creative practice into a career. Digital art is just another medium of creative expression for me. My practice is a constant dialogue between the analog and the digital, and I love maintaining this balance to keep the creative energies fresh and flowing.

Tell us about your zine, Nostalgia, and what was the inspiration behind it?
Nostalgia has always been a really intriguing and complex emotion to me, one that is bittersweet and resides somewhere between happiness and sadness. As a response to a project brief during my first year of grad school at MICA, I created a one-page non-linear narrative zine that is a collection of memories designed to evoke feelings of nostalgia. I was fascinated by how I could visualize nostalgia as an emotion that compels us to look at the past, sometimes through rose-colored glasses and other times triggering unresolved trauma.

In my zine, I isolated different forms of nostalgia into six distinct categories:

Sensory Nostalgia: Being transported to memories through the senses, triggered by food, music, touch, and smells.
Toxic Nostalgia: Forgetting the bad and only reminiscing about the good, often seen in breakups and toxic relationships.
Coping Nostalgia: Using nostalgia as a coping mechanism to survive or get through trauma.
Future Nostalgia: Escapism, or escaping from the present through daydreaming.
Comfort Nostalgia: Similar to coping nostalgia but more positive, where we keep replaying a happy memory.
Melancholic Nostalgia: Reminiscing about things or moments that will never come again, such as childhood or significant life events.

Breaking it down like this allowed me to delve into the multifaceted nature of nostalgia and present it in a way that resonates on different emotional levels.

What inspires you to explore narratives of womanhood?
Exploring narratives of womanhood comes from a deeply personal place for me. Growing up in India and now living in the U.S. as a brown woman I have experienced and observed the diverse dimensions of womanhood across different cultural contexts. These experiences have given me a unique perspective on the myriad of aspects that define and shape what it means to be a woman. My work seeks to capture and visualize these evolving perspectives and emotions, creating time capsules that reflect the complexity of the female experience.

I draw inspiration from the stories of women in my life—my mother, mentors, family, friends, and even strangers—whose lives embody courage, creativity, and depth. I am particularly fascinated by how women navigate their identities, relationships, and societal expectations. Through my art, I strive to highlight and celebrate these nuanced narratives, embracing the spaces that lie in between.

Additionally, I believe that exploring these narratives can foster empathy and understanding, bridging gaps between different experiences and backgrounds. By creating visual stories that resonate with the diversity within womanhood, I hope to contribute to a broader conversation about gender, identity, and equality. Womanhood, to me, is a microcosm of emotions, roles, and experiences. My work seeks to honor this complexity and bring to light the beauty and strength inherent in these narratives.

How do you think AI is affecting and will change the future of digital art?
As with anything new and emerging and still in development, it is natural to approach the idea of AI in the digital art realm with skepticism and criticality. The beauty of artistic expression goes beyond just the outcome. A significant part of what makes art special lies in the process and the human touch involved. From a deeply practical perspective, I prefer to see AI tools used for more technical, functional, research, and organizational purposes rather than merely generating pixel collages from pre-existing art.

Can we study the use of AI as a tool that can assist in automating repetitive tasks in a way that complements human creativity instead of replacing it? This approach could free up artists to focus on the conceptual and emotional aspects of their work, where human intuition, ingenuity, and error are irreplaceable. In this way, AI can enhance the creative process, providing new opportunities for exploration and innovation without diminishing the essence of what makes art meaningful.

Where do you want to see yourself in the future?
This is always such a loaded question, and I try not to mull over it too much because it prevents me from appreciating the present. But to answer your question, I hope I can continue telling the stories I want to tell and continue creating immersive artistic experiences that go beyond the conventional two-dimensional plane, converging various disciplines like music/sound design, fashion, animation, spatial graphics, and multimedia installations.