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Work Samples

Vignesh Sankar

2021 - Present

This portfolio presents a selection of projects developed between 2021 and the present. Spanning multiple disciplines and explored through a variety of media, the projects offer insight into my creative process and the evolving narratives behind each work. The projects are arranged in reverse chronological order showing the progression of my creative practice.

Architectural Design: The Grand Parade

MArch Year 1 - Queer School of Thought

‘The Grand Parade’, explores the intersection of queerness and South Asian identity. Rooted in personal experience as a queer Tamil individual, it investigates the erasure of queer South Asian voices through archival research, reflection, and traditional artistic practice. The work culminates in a celebratory procession set in East Ham blending the spiritual architecture of a Hindu chariot festival with the vibrancy of Pride, honouring queer South Asian culture through dance, ritual, and performance as acts of visibility, joy, and reclamation.

Isometric drawings of each float

Mapping a celebration

Initial sketch collage of the parade

The Grand Parade, digital artwork Printed on Silk

Link to the film:

https://vimeo.com/1047738251/35409af6ff

Stills from the film

This project began with a visit to Derek Jarman’s cottage in Dungeness, an unassuming shack that unfolds into a shrine-like queer refuge, offering an intimate glimpse into Jarman’s final years. Reflecting on the bedroom as a vital site of queer self-expression, drew parallels to my own, which served as a curated sanctuary and extension of identity. Through the creation of a miniature Hindu shrine- inspired maquette of my bedroom, used as the set for a short film, the project explores the personal and symbolic power of queer domestic space.

Sketches of the ‘shrines’ at Jarman’s Cottage

Maquette of my Bedroom, (mountboard and acrylic paint

Short Film: Also Our Dharma

Year 1 - Queer School of Thought

Link to the film: https://youtu.be/ItOl2lrR0G8

1. Phallic representation of Shiva Lingham (Taking inspiration from the Gudimallam Lingham), 2. Yonic incense holder, 3. Yonic Kuthu Vellaiku (5 tip Oil Lamp), 4. Hand-bell, 5. Hand-Held Kapooram Lamp (with queer Kama Sutra Position relief from the Khajuraho Temple). (All constructed from Clay,Mountboard, Acrylic and Gold Luster.)

In response to the belief that queerness and South Asian identity are mutually exclusive (R. Mundair, 2007), this project uses critical pedagogy to reclaim queerness as integral to South Asian culture. reinterpreted Hindu pooja objects through a culturally grounded queer lens, creating artefacts that featured in a short film blending ritual and spoken word. The film, distributed via posters across East London, aimed to challenge stigma, spark dialogue, and make queer South Asian narratives visible in public space.

Stills from the Film

Photos documenting the installation of the posters

Exhibition Design: TRANSCESTRY: 10 years of the Museum of Transology

Museum

of Transology - Volunteer

To mark the 10-year anniversary of the Museum of Transology, the UK’s most significant collection representing trans, non-binary, and intersex lives, we contributed to the design of a display table for a ‘paper protest’ of walking figures made by the local community for Trans Pride Hastings. The table was constructed from a donated wardrobe, playfully referencing the exhibitions theme of deconstructing the closet.

Photos of the table taken by Exhibition Photographer, Henry T. Central Saint Martins

Initial Sketches of the design

Photos of the construction process

Visualisation Render of Southern Face of the Site

Form strategy diagram

Visualisation Render from the west into the coutyard

Hassell Studios Melbourne: Armstrong Creek Architectural Assistant

Architectural Design: Q-Space

BArch Year 3 Final project

Interior view of a preformance at the Drag Club

Interior view of the Inclusive Bathroom Space

Interior view of the main corridor leading to the A

Architectural Design: Q-Space

BArch Year 3 - Final Project

This formal exploration was driven by the idea that queer space is claimed through action, a territory carved out by its users (C. Reed, 1996). Initial tests involved building hollow site models and injecting expanding foam, which burst through cuts and openings, symbolising spatial resistance and emergence. The resulting forms inspired an interior language of curves, a spatial embrace , evoking care and safety.

The Washroom

The Closet Form development models Queer Space?

it is.

My final-year BA studio explored themes of construction waste and nightlife. We began with a group project to design an evening event, where focused on the experiential elements: props, costuming, and atmosphere, all created from discarded construction materials. The result was a surreal, immersive experience: participants were guided through a series of disorienting obstacles, culminating in a ‘Trash Feast’ with banquet of ‘food’ they were coerced to eat, a provocative commentary on consumerism and waste culture.

Film Photo of the event

Photo of the ‘dining room’ & bar

Photograph of the mad Butcher

Architectural Design: Clay by the Canal

1:100 Ground Floor Plan of Ceramics Studio

Exterior View of Clay by the Canal

Building a Bottle Kiln (Stopmotion stills)

Manipulating like Clay (Form development)