Anika Awasthi - Fashion Designer & Textile Artist 

When my grandmother was in school she had a deep interest in biology, but her mother prevented her from taking any classes on the subject. Later in life her interest in biology transformed into an interest in textiles. 

 

My mother can’t stand blood or sewing so she joked that my grandmother’s interests must have skipped a generation and transferred to me. 

 

Today I explore the body, anatomy, disease, horror, and decay in my work especially through textiles and fashion. I prefer using textiles to depict anatomy and viscera because it allows one to feel and handle these off-putting things that usually someone would never be able to feel or see. Oftentimes we visually pick apart our bodies or shrink away from the darker parts of the world but in my work I hope to communicate just how much beauty exists within them.

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Anika is currently a student at School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is studying to be a technical designer