"I'm working on this ongoing series because there’s something so charming about the clutter, the dinginess and the hodgepodge branding of the little shops, the corner stores and the food carts of the world. They feel both glaringly present but also invisible, just noticeable at the corner of our eyes when we’re hungry or need something. I just want to document them (and the people that work them), and in that process, pay better attention to them. This feels important to me especially right now, when our lives would not be the same without the corner stores and the street vendors. As a POC originally from Chennai and now living in New York for the last seven years, representation matters to me. If I can take something that was historically “uncool” and make that feel charming, as perhaps a French comic would feel charming, that feels like a win to me."
-Illustrator Dhiya Choudary
Check out her series, created while she was stuck in quarantine with a mild case of COVID-19!:
Follow Dhiya's work on Instagram