The artist, who is exhibiting her works at Exhibit 320, is known to the world as Princess Pea, the pseudonym she has adopted to address the issues faced by women. She tells Divya Kaushik that she presents her alter ego in the form of an anime style figure that inhabits a fictional world
It looks like a scene from a fairy tale. The princess stands at the rooftop in her long, voluminous red gown and looks down upon the palace, peacocks and courtesans. She seems unfazed by the activities around, lost in her own world. The princess changes looks and can be seen as a traveller with her green popping eyes fixed at a few objects and people around. Meet Princess Pea, the central character of the artworks. The artist has created this character based on her own experiences and she presents her works under a pseudonym, Princess Pea, the title borrowed from a popular fairy tale about a young woman whose royal identity is established by a test of her physical sensitivity. The artist has presented her artworks in an exhibition titled Pecked And Jostled And Was Teased at Exhibit 320. She says that the title has a reference to her childhood. The artist shares, “I was teased in childhood for being too thin and my head being too big. So the physical characteristics of Princess Pea evolved from my own experiences and my relationship with my sister and it formed the perfect alter ego for me. At the artistic and personal level The pseudonym gave me a barrier from the real world and confidence to play with ideas freely. The works created from this basic premise portrays a world where Princess Pea is the star. As Pea I present to the world my alter ego in the form of a ‘living doll’, an anime style figure that inhabits a fictional world.”
Pea’s works strongly speak of the issues that women face today. The title itself reflects that. “Angst always stayed with me from my childhood as I was persistently told that I was too thin and my arms too skinny and head too big. My works create a contemporary dialogue with the past. Everything is possible in the imaginary world so I turned the world on its head (literally) and made head enlargements the most desired of cosmetic surgeries. It offered me a new tool to explore my environment,” she explains.
Pea merges imageries from different eras to present a certain contrast. In one of her works she has used the 18th century references. It’s called The ladies Enjoying Wine in Moonlight. The architecture, nature and human beings can be seen going through an amazing metamorphosis from traditional to modern to a virtual world. “The attempt here is to work on a very traditional image and documentation of the changing world. The image is worked on after it is painted in the traditional miniature style on silk, with natural pigments. Wooden dolls that are figural replicas of Princess Pea’s body type are distinct with their unique, individual features that are representative of their iconic personalities. These eight female figurines illustrate eight characters derived from the world of fiction, myth and reality. They represent Draupadi, Marjane Satrapi, The Red Queen, Mary Kom, Yoko Ono, Anya, Barbara Thornson, and Ottoline. Displayed in individual glass vitrines, these dolls celebrate the quirks, strengths, accomplishments and enduring power of these women. Mundane/Fairytale series talks about the power of imagination. Here, random utilitarian objects are inscribed with clusters of Pea-like ears, which animate and elevate their status. A pillow, a toaster and an HP printer are conveniently transformed through this imposition and as they meet the viewer’s gaze, they ask us to question their inbuilt quasi-magical properties,” explains the artist.
Though Princess Pea is wandering in her own fantasy world, she in many ways asks the viewers to reexamine the absurdity of the norms of beauty we have been irrationally subjected to aspire to. “The works are like a commentary on the changing norms and values of Indian society. They also ironically look at the science of perfection, questioning the relationship between traditional and contemporary views on beauty. The artist seems to be clearly inspired by Japanese multimedia artist Yoko Ono and Serb artist Marina Abramovi.
Next, Princess Pea is working on the Pea family. “I will continue to explore my mental space while being disconnected from the real world. I would disguise myself as an abnormal human and would live in a prefect Geodesic structure, which is inspired by a utopian dream. There is a project called Pea O Box, where the audience is invited to a big yellow rohmboctahedral structure and they have to fill a form about ‘self and alter ego’. It enables them to enter a fictional world where they can be anyone, dream as big as they want and change anything they like. It would also let them enter the world of Princess Pea. The participants in the project becomes Princess Pea’s extended family members, officially known as The Pea Family. Pea O Box further converts into a screaming chamber, inviting female visitors to let go and let it all out and scream. Women are often berated if they are loud or are made to appear cantankerous if they speak too loudly or demonstrate an overflow of emotion. I would like to document what happens when there is a safe, sound-proof zone that encourages women to forget manners and simply allow their bodies to produce high decibels in form of an unabashed scream. The result of this documentation will most likely be my future artwork, much like The Pea Family,” concludes the artist.