I excavate ideas of beauty rooted in ancestral memory, inspired by Tamil communities in Malaysia. My work reveals how beauty and taste are shaped by class, rurality, and post-colonial shame. 

What does JINGUCHA mean?

Jingucha in South Indian (Tamil) pop culture songs refers to a rhythmic phrase. It mimics the jing-chak sound made using a pair of metallic cymbals used in Indian music, called Jalra.

In Malaysia, Jingucha can be an internal slur among Tamil speakers. It insinuates a flamboyant colour combination, referring to fashion that is gaudy.

I assume this is also what people mean when they say “very Indian colours”. 

So, I’m exploring what if I embrace this stereotype and open the invitation for you to do the same.

How did JINGUCHA begin?

The Navarathiri Festival (that takes place in September) inspired this work. During this celebration of the divine feminine, I documented the space in real time, sketching and recording movement as fast as I could while observing the devotees and performances around me. 

Later, I researched archival images and layered them with my work. This collection has 13 collages. Each one combines sketches, archival art, and photos. 

Where has JINGUCHA taken place?

2nd International Conference on Film & Society

15 April 2026

AICB Centre of Excellence,

Kuala Lumpur

நாங்கள் சேர்ந்து வந்து கதைக்கலாம்

(Let’s come together and talk)

30-31 May 2026

Jean Stokes Community Centre,

London

JINGUCHA: Embracing The Stereotype — Private Showcase

20th June 2026

Five Arts Centre, GMBB

Kuala Lumpur

Your support will help me grow this gradually towards a web-exhibition in 2027.

Why this project is important for Malaysian and global Tamil diaspora?

"The exhibition makes visible how ideas of beauty and taste are shaped by class, rurality, and postcolonial shame, revealing judgment itself as something learned and inherited. By looking straight up and then turning away from an internalised gaze, Rupa reflects and builds on identity, which here is not fixed but in motion, incomplete, like the capturing of the dance. The work unfolds in lived, embodied time and embraces the saturation set aside in childhood without hesitation. 

Jingucha doesn’t provide answers, but rather an energy to carry forward, loud and deliberate. Rupa unapologetically takes authorship of the present moment as part of a larger story of connected humanity and, in doing so, invites us to do the same."

Review by Sofia Castello,

Researcher, Portugal 

How much will this cost?

1. Fixed & Production Costs (1 Year)

Laptop Upgrade: $1600

Smartphone Upgrade: $775

Microphone: $100

Hard Drive: $368

Design Software (1 year): $120

Internet Service (1 year): $530

Home Studio Rent (1 year): $4,420

*Physical Exhibition: $6,000

Includes archival quality Giclée prints, framing, statement vinyl, installation, catalogue, transportation, photography, documentation, project management, venue rental, marketing.

Production $Subtotal: $ 13,913

2. Digital Long-Term Accessibility (10 Years)

Web Hosting ($192 × 10): $1,920

Domain Name ($50 × 10): $500

Accessibility Subtotal: $2,420

While I have tested selling prints to fundraise, if I aim to keep it accessible to the community I want to serve - it only covers about 6-10% of the actual cost and labor, involved to create a project like this. And I will have to sell in thousands to make it viable.

What are the next steps for JINGUCHA?

1) Revive web: skinandsoul.art

2) Revise web draft 2.0 to receive feedback round 4

3) Study archival Indian art

4) Conduct sharing sessions about Jingucha & archival findings

5) Write summary of archival study

6) Apply for international and local exhibition open calls & grants

7) Write proposals for suitable venue & partners

8) Update contributors with progress report

9) Update social media with milestones and Behind The Scenes

10) Script and develop video

11) Shoot & edit video

12) Video feedback circles

13) Adapt revisions

14) Finalize web platform

15) Figure out art prints distribution

16) Setup & digital print shop

17) Testing & Fixing

18) Write press release

19) The Full Public Staggered Rollout

20) Public events + sharing sessions

21) Document impact metrics + update contributors with final report

22) Project Closing Ritual.

Who is the creator behind this idea?

Rupa S. Maniam is a multidisciplinary visual artist with a background in digital media.

Her take on Hindu Goddesses protesting body policing, “This Body is Mine” (2017) reached 2 million views worldwide. She founded Art Battle MY (2016) and has featured 70+ artists, painted on 30 Women in 30 Days (2018), led the Banana Leaf Art Exhibition (2019) with 50 over Malaysian Indian Creatives, published a documentary on Non-Consensual Dissemination of Intimate Images (2020), was the Creative Director for Malaysia’s Women’s Tribunal Arts Festival (2021), and published a creative collage journal that’s free for the public to download called “Draw Your Way Home” (2023).

She has created two web exhibitions prior to this: one for GoodkidsMY, called Apa Pandang-Pandang, and her first solo, Butterflying the Highway, in 2025. JINGUCHA: Embracing the Stereotype will be her third web exhibition.

Rupa's work is both accessible and deeply insightful. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including multiple Malaysian Media Awards during her time in media agency, the Aegis Global Media Gold Award (2012) , Marie Claire Malaysia's Women of the Year award (2019), FEMALE’s Superwomen (2019) along with Prestige’s Top 40 Under 40 Award (2020).

*If you like to sponsor any part of this process / envision bringing this part of a cultural event in Malaysia / global Tamil diaspora / volunteer creative talent - please get in touch.

I'm also happy to inherit refurbished tech, like the mic and hard drive if you have got them! Contact: [email protected] // [email protected]