Reethee V Mohanraj

This Foundation Project, implemented by IFA under Explorations will examine the impact of human-made bodily norms to generate perspectives on the breast, as a form designed by society and culture along with biology, through a research paper, a process matrix, three ReBoob prototypes, and an installation. Reethee V Mohanraj is the Coordinator for this project. 

Reethee V Mohanraj is a Goa-based visual artist and socio-legal researcher whose interdisciplinary practice spans new media, sculpting, and legal scholarship. Drawing from a background in law, psychology, and visual culture, their work translates complex socio-political realities into accessible, interactive visual forms.   Reethee holds an LLM and a BA LLB (Hons.) from O.P. Jindal Global University, with specialisation in art law, aesthetics, and gender. Given her experience, Reethee V Mohanraj is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

The project BODY ReForm Lab (Phase 01: ReBoobTM) is an interdisciplinary artistic research project that investigates the dichotomy between the human body, mind, and contemporary design culture, grounded in socio-legal philosophy, gender studies, and psychoanalysis. Reethee will approach the body, not as a static biological entity, but as a site that is constructed by market forces, and patriarchal standards. The artist has positioned themselves at the intersection of critical theory and studio practice, informed by techno-feminist philosophy, while exploring three-dimensional sculpting and speculative product design, to interrogate how bodily “flaws” are structurally produced. Responding to contemporary phenomena like femtech tracking and cosmetic surgical interventions, the lab will propose a satirical, exaggerated reality, where physical reform will serve as a double gesture of functional redesign and conceptual provocation. 

The artistic process will focus specifically on the human breast, examining the physical and social absurdities of front-facing, weight-bearing tissue in daily life. Drawing from speculative methodologies, Reethee will use materials like silicone, clay, and liquid latex to fabricate three ergonomic prototype interventions. The artistic process will also include informal interviews, auto-ethnographic wear-testing, and visual use-case mapping, to address conditions ranging from physical back strain, lactation, chest dysmorphia, and objectification. 

The outcome of the project will be an artistic research paper, a process matrix, three ReBoob prototypes, and an installation. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the artistic research paper, and the visual documentation of the artistic process.   

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice programme in the manner in which it attempts to reclaim the agency of bodily redesign, presenting deliberate, exaggerated propositions that challenge the capitalist and patriarchal norms enforced upon the physical form, through the lens of techno-feminist philosophy.  

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm by convening an online gathering of artists coordinating Explorations projects. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.