Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Noopur Choksi . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Noopur , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have always been a visual thinker. Picture books, graphic novels and cartoons with their vivid stories, twisted worlds and zany narratives caught my fancy from a very young age. I think I picked up art to channel my discomfort, imagination and curiosity about the world into something more concrete and tangible.

As a kid I remember creating my own imaginary worlds, weaving stories around these realms down to the minutest of details. I also recall being oddly particular about aesthetics from a very young age, I always had a vision for things and I believed in it strongly, so I think I embraced my quirks pretty early on :)

Growing up, I looked at artists and musicians with a lot of awe, their independence and energy was magnetic. There was something about the way they carried themselves, and their unique perception of the world that inspired me to nurture my creative self. The indulgence and introspection that came with it, drew me in. I was creatively charged, opinionated and a dreamer so art was a natural calling. I got lucky that my parents supported me with my choices!

Noopur , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! My name is Noopur Choksi and I am a Visual Designer and Illustrator from India currently based in Baltimore, USA. I studied Graphic Design at the National Institute of Design (NID), India and worked as a freelance Visual Designer for the past 6 years before pursuing my masters in Illustration Practice at the Maryland Institute College of Art(MICA), Baltimore. After working various Design jobs and freelancing for over 6 years, I saved up enough money to afford grad school in the States and decided to take a leap of faith to nurture my creative practice further. The transition hasn’t been the smoothest, but I am grateful to be able to do something I love so deeply.

I think my interest in art was a by-product of my struggle to find a comfortable place for my imagination and to be able to engage with as many different things as possible. I engage with illustration as a process of dissection and discovery. I am interested in exploring how creative expression can create a space that allows us to face our vulnerabilities, fragility, and impermanence as liminal experiences that transpose us into a state of heightened cognizance. My work is a reflection of my experimentation with typography, narratives and image- making; using visualization and storytelling to externalize the often intangible, emotional environments of my subjects.

I strive to explore and expand the limits of thinking visually and challenge perception through layering meanings within the work I create. I want to create artistic experiences that go beyond the conventional two- dimensional plane and converge various artistic disciplines like music/sound design, fashion, animation, spatial graphics, and installations.
One of my main goals with Illustration is to create something that contributes to constructive social dialogue and shapes the contemporary cultural and visual landscape in a way that reflects our internal and external realities; both collective and individual.

A lot of my work chronicles themes of the perception of self, body image, sexuality, and narratives of feminine power. I am also heavily inspired by music, science, and the dynamic relationship between ourselves and the things within our environment. When it comes to imagery, I appreciate a simple idea that is visually powerful and full of intricate obscurity.
Growing up in India, where gender equality is elusive and gender disparities are still very prevalent, society often expects women to be chirpy, pleasant, and unassuming. A woman with an explicitly complex personality and an opinionated outlook is not appreciated and (instead) looked at as someone who has to be fixed, checked, or controlled. I am committed to disrupting these gender-biased expectations within my work and celebrating women in all their complexities, going beyond the one- dimensionality of female characters often depicted in the visual culture around us. I am always looking for ways to challenge regressive notions and stereotypes and tackle real, sometimes uncomfortable subjects and emotions through my work in a way that is visually and emotionally captivating.

Through my work, I hope to propagate characters and narratives that confront the dualities imposed by societal norms and investigate the limiting ideologies that influence our understanding of gender roles and power by bringing focus to the grey areas that lie in between. I love making these grey areas look fabulously wonderful and full of vibrancy and color.

In our overly digitized, often impersonal world, I want to use Illustration as a means to bring warmth in both the physical and virtual context. In my artistic practice, I have always gravitated towards the analog medium due to its organic nature and innate sense of spontaneity. But I appreciate technology and digital media for their efficiency and flexibility. Most of my work is a volatile marriage between the two.

Throughout my professional journey, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with wonderful clients such as Google, Paypal, Bandcamp, Disney, Fanta, AARP, Lennyletter, Your Magic, Jill Greenberg, Rippling, Indian Type Foundry (ITF), Le Mill, Shevolution, Musicseen.fm, Sisters Newsletter, Daedelus, Far Out Recordings, Exit Records UK, Mello Music Group, On the Jungle Floor, and Service Now, among others.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I believe that everyone is innately creative. Some people choose to nurture that side of themselves while some people don’t, and it isn’t always a choice. Being able to pursue a creative path is definitely a privilege that I fully recognise and am grateful for. I believe that people non creative career paths might find it challenging to grasp the depth of emotional investment and vulnerability that comes with expressing oneself through art. It’s not just about creating aesthetically pleasing visuals; it’s a journey into the realms of self-discovery, facing vulnerabilities, and embracing the discomfort and uncertainties that come with the practice. Sometimes this process may seem abstract to those outside the creative realm.

What a lot of people don’t realise with pursuing a creative career is that it is entirely self driven. There are no rules or templates that define a right way to be a creative or have a career as a creative person, which can be liberating and overwhelming at the same time. This self-driven nature of a creative path requires a unique blend of passion, resilience, and constant adaptation.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is the ability to translate intangible thoughts and emotions into tangible, meaningful expressions. There’s a unique joy in bringing ideas to life through visual storytelling and creating something that resonates with others on a profound level. Being able to spend most of my time doing something that I truly love is also very satisfying on a cellular level :D

Contact Info:

• Website: noopurchoksi.com
• Instagram: @cookshop_ruin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noopur.choksi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noopurchoksi/
• Other: Behance: www.behance.net/NoopurChoksi