The India Art Fair has artists questioning gender stereotypes and celebrating femininity

Recipient of the Kamaladevi Puraskar of the Delhi Crafts Council, Sangita Jogi’s dot drawings depict the new roles performed by women in an urban milieu. Based in rural Rajasthan, the ink works have scenes from the city, based on Jogi’s observations during her various travels and exposure through social media. So there are women working in office, masked women delivering speeches, and Jogi, too, drawing after completing her household chores.

The Future is Femme by Aravani Art Project

‘The Future is Femme’ by Aravani Art Project.

Right at the entrance, a 50-feet mural by the trans-artist collective Aravani Art Project visualises a gender-free and inclusive world and how it would be to live freely and nurture different communities without any bias.

Pritish Bali and Anu Bali’s project with Serendipity Arts

The digital project comprises archived conversation about meals prepared by a mother.

The set for this artwork is a room recreated in a small cubicle, with a kitchen and cupboard and a sofa where visitors are invited to view a video that discusses the unacknowledged contributions of homemakers and domestic caregivers, the growing gender-gap and unpaid domestic labour. The digital project comprises archived conversation about meals prepared by a mother, acting as a metaphor for the countless seemingly invisible tasks she also performs.

Chitra Ganesh’s works at the Gallery Espace booth

Chitra Ganesh’s works bring together science, myth and tech.

In Brooklyn-based Chitra Ganesh’s hybrid works on paper, the male heroes are replaced with women and the stereotypes are questioned.

Known for her cutting-edge, fantastical works, she uses celestial backdrops in these works that also bring together science, myth and tech.

Darkest Hour, Adeela Suleman, presented by Aicon Gallery

‘Darkest Hour’ by Adeela Suleman.

The artist uses objects found in the kitchen to discuss gender-based role divisions. She notes how in spite of the numerous options now available to women, they have to fulfill the traditional expectations associated with gender. Suleman puts together the objects in the shape of a steel motorbike helmet, usually worn by men in Pakistan.

Seema Kohli’s set of works at Art Heritage booth

Seema Kohli’s work borrows from the concept of Shakti.

In her set of works, the Delhi-based artist borrows from the concept of Shakti, the divine cosmic energy which manifests itself through female embodiment. “Of particular importance is the concept of Hiranyagarbha or The Golden Womb, from which we have emerged, which is self-pervading and all-encompassing,” she writes in a concept note.

Compiled by Vandana Kalra

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