WUNRN
Women's Feature Service
By Subhra
Mazumdar
"Through various
expressions, ranging from the blunt to the subtle, artists today are drawing
attention to commonality ofconcerns on women's safety and security."
In the creative space, art has emerged as yet another way of
sensitively portraying the gamut of emotions an issue like
gender-based violence evokes. (Credit: UNIC)
Delhi (Women’s
Feature Service) - Be it the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old New Delhi girl
in city bus, which resulted in her death, the gruesome Valentine’s Day killing
of South African Reeva Steenkamp by her partner, Olympian Oscar Pistorius, the
blatant social media documentation of rape by alleged perpetrators in
Steubenville, Ohio, or the assassination attempt on Pakistani schoolgirl Malala
Yousafzai by Taliban gunmen, violence against women has emerged as the biggest
global concern today.
In
According to artist
Seema Pandey, “A girl today wants to be herself; wants to be at a place where
she can be herself without being questioned. She wants that sense of freedom,
the freedom not to be stared at, not be judged as a girl, anymore.” This
yearning for liberty and choice is clearly reflected in her work, which were
recently on display in
Ranging from works on
paper, to large canvases and standalone installations on the gender theme, each
of the works excoriated the need to sensitise people on the subject with
exposés that laid bare the disturbing dimensions of women’s social status.
At first sight,
Pandey’s colourful paper work has echoes of spring. On closer examination the
impact of its underlying ideation trickles down with crystal clarity. Says
Pandey, “It is ‘Me’ in these works, depicted in all honesty and truthfulness. I
painted this series in
Besides their visual
and nuanced appeal, her work is tinged with professional technical inputs. The
illusion of space, given through shadowy reflections, the fluffy feel of the
first snowfall, the reflection in the water – they all add a theatrical
dimension to her art. The highly stylised geometry in the detail such as stick
figures, circular orbs or horizontal stretches, enhance her message of
individuality.
For young artist,
Jyoti Singh – part of Pandey’s show – the Woman signifies the creator. In her
painting, titled ‘Glorified’ that depicts a pregnant womb in a crescent shape,
the palpable appeal is for the protection of the unborn girl child. The crescent
shape is the anchorage of femininity in the work, while the swimming fish, the
bird song, and the general aura of nature present throughout the canvas, point
to a life where the presence of the woman becomes a striking messaging tool for
her content. In another painting, the symbols chosen for an identical thought
process is a herd of deer that is following a trail towards a water body. “The
journey towards water is a trail of energy and enlightenment,” explains the
artist, adding, “The symbols are drawn from my subconscious, when painting. The
golden fish in the water are emblematic of meditation and the female form is
the centre of fulfilled desire.”
From imagination to
realism – that’s where artist Giriraj Singh takes the viewer. His work embodies
the ground realities of the average woman in rural
His art, therefore,
is what he likes to call “public art”, where the perception is an exposé on
what the artist has experienced within his own environment. “The veil is like
an oxygen mask for the woman through which she is expected to breathe to
survive. Her braid becomes the conduit for the air to pass through, the curled
piping working as the ‘kundalini’ to let the life-giving air pass within,” he
explains.
The woman inverts
this state of affairs not through acceptance but through a loud protest but,
alas, her voice is muffled and society lacks the dynamism to release her from
her crushing burden of unheard silence. A palette of muted but somber tones of
reds, contrasting blues and ochre, conjoined through a style that is explicitly
realistic and graphic in depiction, the works seems to meet the needs and
expectations of his thought process thoroughly.
Urgency pervades
Somesh Singh’s sculptures today. In his latest pieces, he has tried to give
voice to the agonised body of the Woman. Her pain pierces the heart but can it
shake off people’s apathy?
The coffined full
frontal forms have their innards exposed with disdain. Within the gouged-out
hollowness of the stomach, instead of human organs lie pins and metallic
objects communicating a horrific thought, with provocative overtures. The
colours of the forms are vibrant pinks and sea blues, but their message is
foreboding, thereby questioning the hypocrisy of our social fibre.
Through various
expressions, ranging from the blunt to the subtle, artists today are drawing
attention to common concerns on women's safety and security. While there’s pain
as well as an observation of the degenerative male conditioning in society,
there’s also a sense of celebration, a gentle reminder of what being a woman
is, as well as a recognition of her right to individuality.