sleepsutra
a story of all the sleeps you will ever sleep
The Substance:
Sleepsutra unravels states of consciousness we drift in and out of from the day we were born. With parents watching over, to sleeping alongside spouses, lovers, companions and friends, to the times we slept by ourselves – all alone, suffering on hospital beds, getting run over on pavements, drifting off in bathtubs to a dangerously drowsy ride on a bike. This is an ode to that sleep – Fourty-Eight adventures under the covers. Learn more about the second edition in this review on Animation Express. Click here to read a feature on the release of the first edition.
Form of the sleeps:
The Sleepsutra features 48 sleeps across 3 volumes (96 pp. total). Each of the volumes is roughly wider than a metric foot, and is as tall as your index finger. Stories spread in three colour variations: black ink on white art paper, a tinge of grey on a darker grey, and white ink on black art paper. Soft and sensuous to touch and tough enough to whack someone in the head and knock them out; each hardcover volume has a smooth satin finish with every page designed to emulate the feel of ancient Indian palm leaf texts.
The book highlights things that happen to us everyday in our dream, waking and sleep states. These incidents have precision and regularity but that does not make them normal. Familiar perhaps… but definitely not normal.
Sleep Genesis:
The sleepsutra started as a small assignment during a elective course when I was studying at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad in 2005. Over the years, I kept making notes and sketches on the topic. I started putting it all together in 2018 for the first edition of the sleepsutra. After experimentation of various dimensions, paper and available book binding techniques the final book shape emerged.