In Their Element
Interactive Website
Stories with | Garystar K Phanbuh, Joy Sharma, Cherikchang M Sangma, Lija Saikia, Chetan Thingbaijam , Donsang Biate, Mohatjyoti Pegu,
Jesaia D. Shira, Kepu Riba, Keshar Jyoti Das
Artist-Designer | Lavanya Sharma
Concept Note
In Their Element is an evolving interactive archive that brings together personal memories, myths, and lived experiences through the lens of the five elements of nature—Water (Jal), Earth (Prithvi), Fire (Agni), Air (Vayu), and Space (Akash).
Built as a sensorial website, each element unfolds as a distinct scape—abstract, immersive environments that hold stories shared by people from diverse landscapes.
These stories are not grand tales—they are fragments of the everyday, deeply personal moments of interaction with nature. From swimming in rivers that no longer exist, to planting orchids with forest soil, or following taboos passed down by elders, each interaction reveals a way of seeing, believing, and remembering.
The project begins with a richly detailed Water | Jal scape, containing 11 unique stories that showcase water as comfort, play, loss, and sacred mystery. These stories are layered through poems, illustrations, sounds, and animations—inviting viewers to not only hear them, but feel them.
Over time, the same level of depth and care will be extended to the remaining elements. Rather than presenting these stories as fixed narratives, In Their Element treats memory as fluid, emotional, and sensory.
Viewers are encouraged to navigate intuitively—hovering, discovering, and pausing. Each interaction is a gentle invitation to enter someone else’s world and see their landscape through their lens.
This is not a project about mapping land—it's about mapping meaning. As the archive grows, it hopes to preserve the kinds of stories that often go undocumented: the quiet, the inherited, the intimate.
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About
Lavanya Sharma
Lavanya Sharma is a curious and driven Visual Designer with a specialization in Visual Communication and Strategic Branding from Srishti Manipal, Bengaluru. Her work sits at the crossroads of design, storytelling, and strategy, shaped by a strong interest in how brands communicate meaning and connect with people.
With a love for clarity, composition, and creative experimentation, Lavanya is especially drawn to projects that merge brand thinking with purposeful design. Her practice spans a range of disciplines including branding, packaging, marketing strategy, motion design, and creative research. She has also explored more tactile forms of making such as printmaking and cyanotype, which continue to inform her visual sensibility.
Over the past few years, she has worked across academic, internship, and self-initiated projects—each one reflecting a balance of strategic intent and thoughtful execution. Lavanya is always seeking out new ways to bridge narrative and design, and is excited to contribute to work that’s bold, culturally aware, and meaningfully crafted.
Garystar K Phanbuh
Finds peace in the rhythm of rainfall, sipping tea by the window as the rain taps on the roof.
Joy Sharma
Grew up by the Kameng River, learning to swim and witnessing how landslides reshaped his home.
Cherikchang M Sangma
Lives near a waterfall and finds calm in the sounds of rain, birds, and the forest.
Lija Saikia
Connects to her landscape through sound — especially the comfort of rustling leaves in the breeze.
Chetan Thingbaijam
Feels most peaceful when surrounded by the sounds of rivers, waterfalls, and whistling wind.
Dosang Biante
Carries a quiet relationship with water — shaped by its presence in his everyday surroundings.
Mohatjyoti Pegu
Hears music in floods — where wind and water create a rhythm that soothes the spirit.
Jesaia D. Shira
Sees rivers as sacred spaces, where local beliefs and rituals shape his connection to nature.
Kepu Riba
Lives with the river as both comfort and threat — a place for swimming and sudden floods.
Keshar Jyoti Das
Describes the river at sunset as a moment of pure flow — with breeze, light, and moving leaves.
© 2025 Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology and the individual artist-designers of the works. All rights reserved.