Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee by Meera Syal
Entry for the Penguin Random House Student Design Award: Fiction Category
Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee is the story of Deepak’s bride, the childlike Chila, and her two childhood friends: Sunita, the former activist law student, now a depressed housewife, and the chic Tania, who has rejected marriage in favour of a high-powered career in television. A hilarious, thoughtful and moving novel about friendship, marriage and betrayal, it focuses on the difficult choices contemporary women have to make, whether or not they happen to have been raised in the South Asian community.
I used collage as a medium to depict the layered, multi-faceted narratives of the lives of the three protagonists. As an homage to their diasporic heritage, I made it in the form of a patchwork quilt, with some elements that are loud and clear about the themes: the Phulkari embroidery of Punjab, the horse from the wedding procession, a wedding photograph, and the marigold; while other elements like the pink tassels act as easter eggs that ou find out about as you read... Marriage, family, and all forms of human relationships remain the core of the story, so the chosen elements seek to reflect that.
Cover Elements
Full Cover
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This design was shortlisted amongst the top ten entries submitted by art & design students from universities around the world. See the announcement + shortlist here.
