Hallabol

“Hallabol” is a comprehensive block print that functions as a visual denunciation of institutional oppression, surveillance, and the militarization of public areas. The work, rooted in the vocabulary of resistance, intertwines themes of protest, captivity, and dissent, utilising the monochromatic starkness of relief printing to enhance contrast—both visually and intellectually.

The composition focuses on the name “HALLABOL,” which violently breaks the structured, prison-like vertical columns that imply walls, barricades, or bars—symbols of confinement. The architecture of control is interrupted by human figures: protestors, some using megaphones, some entangled in barbed wire, and some concealed or viewing from behind structures, signifying a continuum of visibility and invisibility in socio-political struggles.

Barbed wire intersects the artwork like a scar, evoking images of battlefields, protest sites, and borders, while symbolising both defiance and imprisonment. The figures with loudspeakers, clenched fists, and deformed bodies represent a state of urgent action, in which the body functions as the focal point of protest.

The militaristic elements—helmets, boots, and megaphones embellished with authoritarian symbols—signify state power, surveillance, and violence, alluding to both historical and contemporary parallels, from Nazi iconography to present-day militarised police operations.

The utilisation of block printing—a traditional, labour-intensive, and egalitarian medium—aligns with political poster art, grassroots communication, and protest banners. The meticulously carved lines and rough textures underscore urgency and authenticity, echoing both traditional Indian protest printmaking and global movements like the Taller de Gráfica Popular.