The Weight
Mixed Media Animation
Stories with | Phuntsog Dolma
Artist-Designer | Shaina Bhatia
Concept Note
This project explores the transformative power of questions in shifting perspectives and catalyzing change, focusing on real-life stories where small acts of questioning disrupted long-held routines and sparked conscious reflection. Imagine someone questioning an act that has been performed absent-mindedly for so long it has become second nature—a job, a ritual. Now imagine someone initiating a conversation, asking questions—why, what, how, when, whom—breaking down the pillars that upheld a belief, a task, a tradition. Suddenly, one stands amid the ruins of what the body and mind once moved through on autopilot. But that one question, that one conversation, changes the course of action. Through poetic narration and animated storytelling, this project revisits the practice of the mechanical destruction of wildflowers by a bulldozer operator —initially seen as an ordinary act shaped by habit, survival, and cultural acceptance. However, a simple, sincere question followed by a conversation initiated a pause—a moment of doubt that evolved into a choice. Drawing inspiration from Phuntsog Dolma’s dialogue with a bulldozer driver laying cables across a rare flowerbed’s growth, the narratives center on how asking, questioning, and sincerely engaging—rather than instructing or ordering—can initiate a shift in behavior. This story emphasizes that change does not always come from resistance or rules, but often begins in quiet, emotionally resonant spaces where empathy is nurtured through genuine inquiry. The project uses voiceovers, sound design, and mixed media animation to map emotion and narrative rhythm, encouraging the audience to consider the emotional weight of their actions and words.
About
Shaina Bhatia
Shaina Bhatia is a visual communication designer based in Mumbai who loves getting her hands dirty with branding, storytelling and narrative driven design. She has studied Visual communication and Strategic Branding from Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Words and Visuals have always been her medium of communication and she works with her strengths to translate abstract ideas into stories and outcomes that resonate.
Phuntsog Dolma
Phuntsog Dolma is a botanist and the co-author of "Plants of Ladakh", whose deep-rooted connection to the natural world was inspired by her grandfather’s love for plants. She sings with passion when speaking of conservation of not only the big and mighty but also the small and tiny. Her eagerness to educate the younger generation of the world around them that needs saving motivates her constant endeavours.
© 2025 Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology and the individual artist-designers of the works. All rights reserved.