Divija Diwan

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For this project I decided to choose a civilisation that I’ve read about throughout my school life – the
Vedic Civilisation which was based in India. I researched about the civilisation to know more about
what people’s lives were like then, and what was given importance to. During this time women just
wrapped around a saree as a way to cover their whole body because stitching was not used and
they did not even wear a blouse underneath it. There was a lot of focus on using gold, silver
ornaments which also signified the wealth of the family one belonged to. With that flowers and plants
were also a part of their dressing ritual, believing a lot in using natural means for enhancing beauty.
There were certain significant symbols that existed at this time too like the Swastik, Kalash, Lotus
signifying purity, strength and good, new beginning. During this time different colours were given
different meaning and one of the strongest ones was related to the colour black which I did not
resonate with. Black was considered impure and unlucky.

Conceptualisation
To conceptualise my mask I wanted to make design decisions keeping all this research in mind and
meaningfully integrating it to the piece. I decided to make the basic structure of my mask in the
shape of a “Shankh” which is blown before new beginnings and during times of worship. Its sound is
also considered to clear negative energies. I then created the significant symbols – Swastik, Kalash,
Lotus and Om. For the materiality I made the ‘Shankh’ Structure using black wire and covering it with
jute thread to show people’s belief of covering up the colour black. I also just wrapped the thread just
like women used to wrap the sarees. For the symbols I used gold wire to also spotlight the
importance given to gold and silver ornaments. I attached this structure to a head tiara with flowers
and beads which I also made out of gold.

As a whole I wanted this mask to embody the essence of the Vedic Civilisation through its materials
and making.