The Botanical Afterlife of Indenture

Creative direction, graphic design, and curation for an exhibition examining the lasting effects of Indenture.

Held in June 2025 at Trinidad’s Art Society, the exhibition “The Botanical Afterlife of Indenture: Imaginative Archives” looked at the lasting impact of seeds and cuttings brought by indentured labourers from India to Trinidad in jahajin bandals — tamarind, mango, neem, etc. The show also examined and honoured indentured women’s labour, and sought to re-imagine portraiture of these women at that time, while deploying mehndi as a way to honour archives.

Although design execution took place over a few short weeks, it really unfolded at its own perfect pace over the course of almost two years spent absorbing the material and being in conversation, collaboration, and cahoots with two extraordinary women and their intellectual and creative brilliance: Dr Gabrielle Hosein and Abigail Hadeed. Printed materials I produced for the exhibition included the informational foldout, invites, posters, a postcard set, and signage – wall vinyls, info boards, and large-format exterior boards. 

Typography played a significant role in design of the information system for the show. We used two typefaces by women to echo and strengthen themes of women’s labour: Flora by Japanese type designer Ayaka B. Ito for the exhibition title and headers, and Garnish by Indian designer Anagha Narayanan for body copy. Colours took shape from mehndi and the palettes of Abigail’s images and the botanicals, which were represented in the show through images, as well as installation I conceived to bring the plants into the space.

SUMMARY | Role: Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Curation
Project Concept and Creation: Dr. Gabrielle Hosein
Creative Direction and Photography: Abigail Hadeed
Printers: The Office Authority, Sign Wave, Officeworks, MOO, The TSL Group
Typefaces: Flora and Garnish