The creation of the video Suffocation was triggered by the observation of the suffering of aquatic life due to plastics being discarded improperly. Monsoons soak Mumbai annually, but the aftermath of July 26th (2005) deluge in Mumbai, when the clogging of the city's drainage system by a massive accumulation of plastic bags led to a major flood in her hometown Mumbai, left Joshi wondering: where does the plastic go? Sea creatures tend to mistake the bright colours of plastic bags floating in the water as food and this leads to the entanglement with or consumption of the deadly material.

At the same time, the short video stages an allegory of the overall state of late petromodern civilization.
While Joshi was covering herself with a large plastic bag as a part of the process of creating her painting series titled Suffocation, the artist was simultaneously led to make this audio-visual form of Suffocation. Joshi wanted to convert her experience into a continuously moving form, not limited by the constrictions of painting.

Aaditi Joshi (1980, IN) revolves her practice around the Indian disposable culture. She finds the sight of these waste materials, especially plastic bags, disturbing yet inspiring. By collecting and altering them, Joshi is able to create large installations that confront the public with the enormous environmental damage caused by plastic usage.