Powerful everyday: South Asian female actors Bharti Kher, Shivani Agarwal and Ramen Chopra impress on the global stage

Gender-based themes are important in art, especially in a country where goddesses are worshipped, but misogyny is rampant. Until the early 20th century, the role of women in the arts was ‘episodic’ because of their social status and the disparity between the sexes. But in the past few decades in particular, their underrepresentation has been challenged. There has been an enormous increase in the number of women in the arts globally; In the publication of Kurt Beer, 100 artists of the future47 are women.

Last month, a group of prominent South Asian women artists including Arpita Singh, Nalini Malani, Shilpa Gupta and Anju Dodiya showcased their work at the first exhibition of Frieze Seoul. In London, at the Design Festival, Indian expatriate artists and textile designers, Zaki Sharif and Asha Vaidyanath, unveiled work exploring healing, spirituality and nature. This month, three new solo exhibitions caught our attention – where memories and the environment are a broad theme, and where the idea of ​​a matrilineal home becomes a leitmotif in their history, identity and sense of belonging.

Bharti Khedi

ancestors

When I first saw Kher, she was an attractive young woman, her black hair in a bun, her British accent saved for those she found interesting, and her mind on packing a brown box of tea. focused, with unstable socio-political messages within them. It was at a workshop in Khoj in the late 1990s – when the British-Indian artist began his practice in India – and even then, people had high hopes for him.

Today, 53-year-old Kher is one of India’s foremost contemporary artists. Her work moves between sculpture, painting, collage and mixed media installations, and she often uses found objects to explore individual and collective relationships to the cultural past.

his latest work ancestors – 18 feet tall, 24-headed, and currently overlooking Central Park. Commissioned by the Public Art Fund, the painted bronze sculpture remained until August 27 of the following year by Doris C. Friedman Plaza, New York.

Powerful work of Bharti Kher, ancestors, is the most ambitious South Asian artist ever. photo credit: nicholas knight

The powerful work is Kher’s most ambitious work till date. , ancestors It’s about families, and about the nature of womanhood and love,” she says, over email from New York. “It’s about your shared past and the long journey together in time into the future. It’s about knowing, empathizing, seeing, forgiving, and freedom.” The feminine figure embodies “multiculturalism, pluralism, and interconnectedness”, and as she recently pointed out new York TimesIt also makes a case for universality because “that” [ Ancestor] Mother Earth is part of this idea. He has no problem. Everyone is the same to him.”

Bharti Kher’s ancestors about families, and the nature of womanhood and love. photo credit: nicholas knight

The sculpture appears to be the culmination of his series of ‘intermediaries’ – broken clay sculptures reassembled and assembled. Reportedly, Kher was the first to come across these idols ( golu dolls) six years ago in local markets in Kochi, Kerala. He ordered them in large numbers, but many came broken. However, as soon as she repaired them, she became inspired and began to take hybrid forms. much like ancestors, very Indian in its form but taking inspiration from Artemis of Ephesus. The Greek goddess of hunting and fertility is often depicted with bulbous figures on her chest. These are the main things in Kher’s work ancestorsof 23 children.

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The sculpture reflects the New Delhi and London-based artist’s cross-cultural identity and his appreciation of India’s rich material culture. “He [ Ancestor] He is the keeper of all things, all memories, all stories. A wish and dream catcher. A ship for you to travel into the future, a guide to discover and honor our past history,” she explains. “I invite the audience to leave their wishes, dreams and prayers with them; And give the coming generation the wisdom of their living and love.”

Artist Shivani Agarwal

Shivani Agarwal

the nets we weave

Aggarwal, 47, connects the everyday metaphor to the broader picture of life. A mid-career artist starting her journey as a painter, she soon became fascinated by mixed media. Working with artisans and craftsmen from around the world (her next project includes those from Australia), her creations include sculpture in wood and fiberglass as well as fiber work such as crocheting – materials discovered during her travels and Combination of working methods.

His latest work, the nets we weave – on display at the 1X1 Art Gallery in Dubai until the end of the month – includes a selection of his sculptural art, installations and mixed media wall art. The highlight is a large crocheted wire work tapestry titled Net, At approximately 17X12 feet, the “never-ending project” is a beautiful garment that is also a sign of the webs we weave around us. “This act of weaving – which I carry on from childhood – transcends its limits and becomes a metaphor through which I understand and see the world,” she says. “I use situations where we feel confined and trapped, but often these restrictions are of our own making. We are bound by the superstructures created from society and ‘culture’ and by strings that either subtly or explicitly are political.

Shivani Agarwal’s Crocheted Wire Work Tapestry the nets we weave There is a “never-ending project” that is indicative of the web we weave around us

In many ways, Agarwal sees himself and society as victims of this conditioning – which leaves us with emptiness and a false sense of security.

“My favorite childhood memory is of my mother and grandmother who spend the afternoon weaving, knitting and making something out of cloth. I was not a silent spectator, but was actively involved in learning what they were doing. Then I did not know what the experience would be like in my life and art, ”she concluded.

Artist Ramen Chopra W. van der vaarto

Ramen Chopra w. van der vaarto

in these verses i find home

In his latest show, the multidisciplinary artist – whose work is based on photography, drawing, sculpture, textiles and wood – recounts the geopolitical lines and memories that make up his place, residence and the idea of ​​’home’.

“For my work in these verses i find home Maps the history of living spaces, and combines poetry and objects from my grandmother’s collection – materials like carpets, shawls, wooden boxes, keepsakes and even maps – about feminine identity To talk in and trace the journey of the ‘holy woman’, a story that is told only intermittently and partially,” says Van der Vaart. “Works are connected by places and language to create dialogues of imaginary landscapes.” Showing at 1X1 Art Gallery until the end of the month, this is his first single in Dubai.

Ramen Chopra w. van der vaarts in these verses i find home Maps the history of living spaces, and adds poetry and objects from your grandmother’s collection

Her creations are organic and each comes from a particular time, either in her own life or from the lives of her mother and grandmother. Their matrilineal nature is emphasized because the stories of women of the time were often not told or incorporated into the larger narrative.

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“While it abstracts the real, it mediates an emotional and connective bond between people and communities that is both sculptural and physical,” says the artist. “Through these works, I question what our family histories are, where we come from, where our travels collide, and how we relate to our mother and our mother’s mother through objects. -Is built specific works, and it is a tribute and testament to the purity of the house and the purity of the earth as a woman.

The writer is a critic-curator by day, and a creative writer and visual artist by night.