Life is tough for women in India. At the Wolfsburg art museum, six female artists give visitors a glimpse as to how they see their country in "Facing India," a show of protest against India's patriarchal society.
Advertisement
'Facing India': Art by women from the subcontinent
Women in India assert their identities in the face of a patriarchal society – in the arts, too. And they cross boundaries, as an exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg shows.
Image: Prajakta Potnis/Project BB,Mumbai
Prajakta Potnis: Futuristic still life
Prajakta Potnis' installations come across as ominous, futuristic still lifes. The Mumbai-born artist likes to stage objects in fridges, freezers and washing machines, and some installations like the above escalators could be straight out of an eerie science fiction movie. Her art is meant as a light-hearted warning of despotism and autocracy.
Image: Prajakta Potnis/Project BB,Mumbai
Reena Saini Kallat: Stamped marks
Reena Saini Kallat wants to transcend boundaries. Her work examines hybrid identities, fantastic animals, creatures that are half tiger and half goat. The above work, a woman's bare back with stamped names, focuses on the Kashmir conflict, part of a series of works dedicated to the constantly changing boundaries in the territorial skirmish.
Image: Reena Kallat Studio/Iris Dreams
Bhati Kher: a place in the art world
Bharti Kher is the only artist in the show who was not born in India. She was raised in Britain, where she felt she didn't have a place in the art world – and moved to India when she was 23 years old. She enjoys and feels inspired by meeting people from all walks of life. Above: six plaster casts of prostitutes.
Image: Bharti Kher/Perrotin/Marek Kruszewski
Vibha Galhotra: five elements
Vibha Galhotra takes a hard look at how mankind treats the environment. She resorts to the five elements water, earth, fire, air and aether in her works. In Hindu mythology, the latter is known as "Panchabhuta," the basis of all creative powers – including artistic creativity.
Mithu Sen: 'Border Unseen'
Mithu Sen requires interaction with her works so they can truly unfold their intentions: a flashlight to read secret messages on acrylic glass, or, in the case of the above artwork, a visitor must bend and twist to find hidden figures and skulls. She calls that interaction process a performance.
Image: Mithu Sen/Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum
Tejal Shah: the art of provocation
Tejal Shah discards norms as she created video installations with sex-crazed unicorn people; her work has, as a result, been censored in India. She plays with gender roles. Provocation is a part of her art. The above photo is from a video about sexuality: genderless figures emerge from a garbage dump, seeking to establish contact.
Image: Tejal Shah/ProjectBB/Barbara Gross Galerie
6 images1 | 6
These days, women in colorful saris populate the generally more drab shopping streets in the German city of Wolfsburg, the hometown of the Volkswagen automobile company. Hindu scriptures and goddesses are the talk of the town for once, rather than the VW emissions scandal.
Femininity and feminism are the focus at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg's new exhibition, "Facing India." Six female artists examine the role of women in their native country in the 21st century, caught between tradition and progress.
Crossing boundaries
Boundaries and crossing boundaries are themes mirrored by most of the show's 94 multimedia exhibits. A pluralistic society like India's is predestined to have to deal with boundaries, says one of the six artists, Reena Saini Kallat., adding that boundaries are essential in creating identities.
Crusade against censorship
The show offers a fascinating glimpse into India as seen from a woman's point of view – an approach rarely experienced in the west. No matter that men and women are equal before the law, women's role remains to be a touchy topic in India, where women are still often treated like second-class citizens.
"Facing India" is a snapshot of social change in India as it moves along on the path from emerging country to world power. Still patronized and underprivileged, India's women are slowly gaining importance all the same.
Beyond cliches and headlines, the exhibition gives visitors a glimpse of the real India and the interaction between men and women. Clearly, India is going through a period of change, and for the first time, women are part of that change.