The Illustrator Drawing Brown Girls as Hindu Goddesses

"It's a crazy cool juxtaposition, and I want brown girls (and other girls) to feel like they can display their heritage and also melt into global culture," Madhu says of her work. In June, she Instagrammed an illustration of an Asian girl looking into a scuzzy bathroom mirror, with Kali—who frequently pops up in Madhu's art—staring out fiercely at her. The caption reads: "My inner goddess will fuck you up."

Growing up in Southeast Asia, I was always keenly aware that most Western depictions of Asian women are stuck somewhere in the last century—more turn-of-the-century wilting lotuses in saris and qipao than independent, modern women. Madhu's work clearly struck a nerve with a lot of other women of color, too. The image of Kali went viral on Instagram, and became so popular that she even started selling T-shirts of it.

"I think whiteness has been heralded as the epitome of beauty for far too long, and even though people admit that our entire society is white-washed, only a few make an active attempt to change it up," Madhu says. "So that's why I decided to make my own path and draw women that represent me and other women of color. Indian girls, especially, live their lives with this overwhelming pressure of adhering to societal standards and conforming to the male gaze."

The 22-year-old Parsons School of Design graduate still remembers the first illustration she was proud of as a kid: a pink poodle. "My mom put me in art class when I was six years old," she remembers. "I remember she told me to lie about my age because the teacher only accepted kids who were older than seven years."

Madhu was born in Chennai, India, but moved to New York in 2012 to attend art school. She soon felt alienated by the mainstream fashion and art world, realizing that most of its imagery was "geared towards slim white bodies." Every day, she'd go home after work and post a new drawing on Instagram, hoping that people would get the work and where she was coming from. "Every time I posted I wondered if this post could be the one that 'changed' things," she says. "And finally, it happened!"

Madhu has sold over 100 pieces since opening her merch store, including apparel, prints, bags, laptop sleeves, and stickers. Her art also brought her to the attention of Adidas, which hired her as a full-time designer earlier this month. She couldn't have done it, she says, without the support of other women of color.

"The brown girl community has been so receptive and supportive of my art," she adds. "I think they really see themselves in my work—I know that sounds cheesy but it's also pretty awesome. It's not just brown girls—a lot of women of color follow me because they get what I'm talking about and they understand what it feels like to not be represented in society. I think lack of representation and societal exclusion is a problem that all women of color can share and understand about each other. That's what makes us so strong as a community."