Self-Guided Lesson Plan for ‘DS Waiting Room’ (2024) by Jasmine Nilani Joseph (b.1990)
What You will Do:
You will explore Jasmine Nilani Joseph’s artwork ‘DS Waiting Room’, which looks at themes of waiting, land, and belonging. Through careful observation, storytelling, and reflection, you will think about how this artwork connects to your own experiences and to larger ideas about land and identity.
Step 1: Look Closely at the Installation
Begin by observing the photograph.
Take your time to notice every detail.
What do you see? Make a list of all the objects that stand out to you.
What does this room remind you of?
How does this space make you feel? Does it remind you of places you have been?
Imagine stepping into this room—what thoughts or emotions come to mind?
Step 2: Explore the Drawings Inside the Files
Spend some time really looking at the drawings.
Then think about these questions:
What do you notice first? List five details that catch your eye.
Can you imagine a story inspired by these details? Think about:Can you imagine a story inspired by these details? Think about:
Who is this story about?
What is happening?
Is your story connected to something from your own life? If so, how?
Now summarise your story in one sentence. Write it down somewhere so you will remember it.
Reflect on your process:
What was it like to summarise your story? Was it easy or hard?
Step 3: Look at the Outside of the File
Now, find the photograph of the file’s cover—the outside of the file you just explored.
Notice what is on the cover. Ask yourself:
What do you see? List three details.
How does the outside of the file compare to the drawing inside?
What does the outside tell you about the inside?
Is the story you imagined different from what you see on the file’s cover? How?
Step 4: Compare Stories
On the file’s cover, there is a short statement about the file. Compare it to the sentence you wrote earlier about your story.
Ask yourself:
How is your story similar to or different from the statement on the cover?
Step 5: Now let us go back to this space:
Who do you think uses this space, and why?
What are the benches for?
Who do you think these files belong to?
Why did the artist not include any information about whom these files belong to, by filling out details such as names, age, location, gender, etc?
Step 6: Reading the Artist’s Story
Jasmine Nilani Joseph grew up reflecting on the land-related issues that were intertwined with her life, and the challenges and struggles that her parents and relatives endured as a result.
She has created this artwork to reflect the experiences of people in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, particularly focusing on how people in areas like Vavuniya and Mannar confront land-related issues and the bureaucratic challenges they face in government offices when dealing with these disputes. For this, she interacted with people from those regions and reflected their stories in her work. The artwork is displayed as a ‘waiting room’ that highlights the waiting experienced by people in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka in land departments at Divisional Secretariats, when dealing with disputes. Through her artwork and the way it is presented, she conveys that while land issues may vary from region to region, the core challenges of land disputes are universal to all.
