Artist Spotlight: Joanna Thangiah
Joanna Thangiah art is my secret weapon in weeding out guys. I have her “you’re cute even when you poop” print right next to my bed. If he gets grossed out or looks shocked, send him packing. Thangiah art is a visual (and visceral) reminder that gross is gorgeous and gender norms suck. The duality of stylized and colorful e-wave aesthetic mixed with the blunt words of wisdom packs a whollop. It reminds you that femme is still feminist, a concept a lot of us were pitted against growing up. Her work reclaims ideas of vanity, girliness and millennialism as empowering and self-love; which is vital in a time where so many subsections are vying to be heard. “I think my art has been political since high school. I listened to a lot of riot grrl and was fuelled by teen angst,” she begins. But something happened in the 2000’s, either we were all clairvoyant or game changers but our teenage angst is still an every day reality. Social lives are chaotic. There are still tidal waves of body policing. And social media only heightened the pedestals and condemnations thrown at (typically) girls. Thangiah bridges the adult and teen angst into a deliciously relatable sherbet. And the word sherbet works not just in the soft but can freeze you way, her Instagram is a pastel paradise. “When I was a child I was obsessed with sailor moon and Pokémon, I think that’s also where my colour palette comes from. Strict ethnic family, we weren’t allowed to watch anything except cartoons. In my teens it was all Mark Ryden and Barbara Kruger.”
Her prints help you connect the dots between why that thing your ex did was so annoying or feel seen for the insecurities you let ravage you. It’s a communal diary, especially for WOC and fat people who are typically left out of the art world. “I started my Instagram after my granny died. I had been in recovery from my eating disorder and in therapy for a year by then. I was also in an abusive relationship ( all very dramatic) He had isolated me from my friends and family so I used Instagram as an escape to help me process my feelings, have some sort of control, self soothe I guess. And he didn’t like the new art that I was making which made me happy.”
Tens of thousands of followers and a full fledged store with a myriad of products available later, and she’s turned making art to piss off men in to a safe haven. I picked five of her favorite prints of hers and asked her what each character would be consuming during quarantine. Check it out below!
