International Women's Day Headlines, 2016. Digital collage.
This collage compliments a previous collage Contemporary Indian Feminism Is A Scroll Away (2016). Headlines, ads and article cutouts used are from a Hindustani Times' International Women's Day (March 8, 2015) special edition newspaper which my father brought from India in his most recent visit. The intense layering and it's context is meant to overwhelm the viewer with the complexity of India's rapidly changing feminist movement. Content used discusses cultural stigmas surrounding women buying themselves contraceptives, watching porn and the overall negative perception surrounding the secret sex life of the Indian woman. Cutouts of news like the rape of a girl by a school magician (aided by her teacher) and the incident of a 14 year old girl being harassed by a drunken NRI on a flight are put juxtaposed against news that highlight progression in India's handling of women's issues. One image included reads that "Female commuters' complaints to 181 helpline get 70 new DTC buses on the road", another mentions that the government is footing medical aid to a recent acid attack victim. "Being a girl is a matter of pride, we should live with this idea" reads a highlighted quote from an interview with Cadet Kumudini Bhutani in a special article entitled "Rising above social taboos in Haryana", which interviews a female military nurse, Navy lieutenant, and airforce cadet abolishing gender expectations in their respective career fields. In the middle of the collage is an altered photograph by Sanjeev Verma from the special edition cover story "Revolver Ranis", highlighting 'gunslinger grannies' Chandro Tomar and her sister-in-law Prakashi as 'poster girls for women shooters in Uttar Pradesh'.
Contemporary Indian Feminism Is A Scroll Away (2015)
Digital collage featuring screenshots from social media
This digital collage is a compilation of screenshots archived through social media applications like Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook. In a broader context, this collage discusses the role of social media in informing a normative framework for cultural identity. Realizing these screen shots into digital collage speaks to the overwhelming way that social media and the Internet also inform non-residential Indians of the Indian feminist movement. Images collected include screen shots of women celebrating Holi from Snapchat's "Holi in India" live event juxtaposed against a photograph of a banner put up in the holy city of Varanasi on Holi, warning women celebrating the religious holiday to be wary of drunk men on the same day. Also included are screenshots of headlines and tweets from Indian news accounts like the Hindustani Times and international social news and entertainment companies like Buzzfeed and the Independent.