'UNFAITHFULLY YOURS'

CURATORIAL NOTE - Alex Mathew

The exhibition, titled ‘Unfaithfully Yours’, showcases the works of four young artists, all women. The artists are Anindita Chakraborty, Siji Krishnan, Sharmishta Kar and Varunika Saraf. As the curator belonging to the opposite gender, I have certain limitations in terms of the conceptualization of the show. But I count myself as the ‘unnamed fifth’, as I stand by their ideas.

It has been pointed out by renowned feminist critics that when it comes to an artist who is a woman, we always refer to her as a “Woman Artist”, whereas the term ‘Artist’, when used without qualification, generally connotes a male artist. This automatic assumption is just one instance of the dominance men have enjoyed throughout the history of art. One of the first projects of feminist art history in the 1970’s was to recover the works and lives of numerous women artists in the past whose presence was simply erased from art history narratives.

The theme of this show draws attention to the strategies one needs to cultivate to survive as a woman in our surroundings, and in society in general - the freedom/unfreedom structures women grapple with in day-to-day life. The sites of resistance range from the tactics women master for moving around in a ‘male’ public sphere to the mechanisms they deploy for breaking free from the constraints of stereotypical domestic gender roles. We still live in a world where hot stainless steel lunch boxes and hidden safety pins form the first line defense against the casual ‘rubbing’ by men in crowded buses!

The overdetermined aspects of domestic life, the role of women in our society, the re-interpretation of women from the history, and the reversal of roles, are some of the subjects these artists have chosen to deal with. All the artists are young and belonging to the same age group. They have defined their ways and methods of working and over the years I have watched them, as a teacher, evolve through their works. Each of them has located her unique choice of expression, language and imagery.

There are many shows today featuring artists who are women; it is interesting that many of these artists choose to critique, through their works, the larger issues of discrimination, inequality, and oppression women face in our society, nuanced and complicated exponentially by entrenched caste and class hierarchies. The contributions of these artists have emerged as powerful critical voices in the contemporary art scene.

A distinctive feature of the present show, I would like to claim, is the tone which this group adopts to achieve its critical purpose. Tongue-in-cheek, each of these artists attempts to subvert the ‘system’ using humour, satire and irony as her critical arsenal. The self-portrait doubles as masquerade. Kitchen utensils cast menacing shadows. Gender roles are reversed. Long plaited hair whips back to ask uncomfortable questions about the quintessential Woman. The art-historical stereotype that associates decorative patterns with ‘feminine’ art is stood on its head. Through little gestures of betrayal, each of these works functions efficiently to expose the time-honoured traditions of culture and art.

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(I would like to thank my colleague Ms.Sarada Natarajan for editing the curatorial note and guiding the participating artists.)