THE MALE GAZE

Contact details: +91 9892213907 / info@baromarket.in 

Artist : WOLF

Medium : Mix Media

Dimensions : 40" x 28.5" x 5"

Year : 2021

ARTISTS’ NOTE

This is the retelling of ancient texts and to  derive new narratives for them that empower everyone.

 We have grown up watching/ listening to these stories and never once questioned how a Queen was molested in front of a Durbar and no one raised a voice/ eyebrow/ finger to stop the monstrosity.

Draupadi was menstruating when she was dragged into the court – a clear breach of every social norm that had women in protected isolation at this time. Yet, everyone simply looked on. Everyone, all male.

 The Scriptures tell us all we know : wriiten by men, benefitting only men.

 Why is Krishna considered her Saviour – and he wasn’t even there?

Why couldn’t it be Draupadi’s own Shakti that saved her?  

Draupadi was a powerful woman and women are in tune with the universe during menses, so couldn’t it have been her own kundalini shakti (represented by the snakes) that saved her?

White buttons stitched in red show Draupadi’s garment being pulled off her body but they also represent her own connected consciousness. 

The seating plan at the bottom is from an invitation received by our family for the coronation of the King and Queen of England, the Delhi Durbar, in 1911. It is also theatre style seating, watching the sexualised drama unfurl in more ways than one!

An energy gateway on the frame, inlaid with bone which represents the indestructible life force.

The Chaupad board with a square zoning in/ falling in for the space that sucked in the Pandavs.

MATERIALITY: 

Found antique wooden frame 

Bone inlay

Snakes from a friend's carpentry unit

Found black and white photographs collected over the years

Antique tent borders for the Chaupad board

Architecture details using mica sheets

The ‘singhasan’ is a discarded seating for small idols in personal temples

Paint details using acrylic paints

Flowers from a craft shop

Embroidery