A Million Tongues | Suman Shantanu + Shreya Katuri

A Million Tongues is a visual representation of the million eclectic languages that India holds within itself. We took inspiration from the Indian matchbox art – an art form that offers insight into the diverse culture, commerce, art, politics, and lifestyle of Indians. If you dig deeper you’ll notice that every box, similar to every state in our country has a different story. While developing the concept for this artwork we have tried to focus on various languages spoken across each Indian state and hope to create a dialogue that serves a dual purpose. Firstly, we want to bring attention to the diversity in the multitude of languages. And secondly, we want to acknowledge how each of the Indian states are different in their own ways and yet the distinctive style of the matchbox art brings them together. While these numerous languages play an influential role in defining India, they also pave the way for a million possibilities.