Am I a Cultural Orphan?

‘Am I a Cultural Orphan?’ is an exploratory essay that has been communicated through an illustrated and typographic form. It is based around my personal cultural position that relates to larger global concepts such as decolonisation of the mind, the relationship between decolonisation and culture and who a ‘cultural orphan’ is in today’s world.

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So yes, in the current context and re-examination of the term, I am a cultural orphan. I am a multicultural being who may not be geographically rooted to my cultural home but one who has found a balance and embraced all the cultures that are a part of me, global and local, thus forming my culture as an amalgamation of my cultural heritage and experiences.

I am a cultural orphan in this positive, re-contextualised light. Can we not be part of more than one culture? Can one’s culture not be a symphony of many cultures orchestrated together? In today’s world, we are all multicultural or cross-cultural hybrids who have aspects of several cultures within us.

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As cultural beings, irrespective of whether we feel rooted in our own culture or not, we need to embrace the multiplicity of cultures present in the world while also embracing our local culture. I believe that by doing this we will move, not only towards decolonising our minds but also, towards embracing cultural diversity and removing cultural differences which are the root cause of most problems present in the world.

View more of the research and development phase of the project here.

I am a symphony of all my inherent cultures. That brings me to the Cultural Orphan Type Specimen - an experimental typeface that brings together the typographic representations and samplings of my culture to form one multi-cultural symphony through type.

Lastly, what would the Cultural Orphan typeface look like in comparison to the old?

Let’s take a look. The previous title and question ‘Am I a Cultural Orphan?’ is now ‘Cultural Orphan’ bold and proud, standing tall in the current context of the term and standing against the negative conotations that come with the traditional use of it.

The question in the title has been more or less answered but will never be left aside. It will constantly be examined and reflected upon, personally.

A ‘Cultural Orphan’ is defined by society as “a sense of loss and alienation, and a kind of anxiety in the search for self. There may be a certain consolation on visiting the cultural homeland of our forebarers but unable to identify this homeland as a cultural home”.

The term needs to be re-defined.
Perspectives need to shift.

Visual Communication & Strategic Design, Bachelor’s Degree at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology
Mentors: Kumkum Nadig & Niret Alva

Master of Communication Design at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University)
Mentor: Fayen D’Evie

Part 1: Shifting Perspectives & Decolonising Design, a thesis project (2020)

Part 2: Cultural Orphan Experimental
Type Specimen (2023)

Through this experimental exercise, I aimed to re-look at my cultural self portrait and embracing the multiplicity of cultures present within me from a typographical lens. How does my culture come together in type? What does the ‘Cultural Orphan’ type specimen from the lens of my culture look like?

Each letter is an amalgamation of the samplings of the Portuguese, Konkani and Latin scripts.

Master of Communication Design at Royal Melbourne Institute ofTechnology (RMIT University)
Mentor: Ziga Testen

Part 3: Cultural & Belonging (2023)

The last exploration of the topic was an in-depth research exploration of the concept of a ‘Cultural Orphan’ and the terms that exist within the same conversation through a collated document and philographics for people to understand concepts better.

I AM A CULTURAL ORPHAN;
A MULTICULTURAL BEING.

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