The exhibition, Red Moon Songs at Apeejay Arts is a collection of works by woman artists who try to explore feminine spirits. Curator Georgina Maddox speaks to Ila Sankrityayan how the artworks try to expose gender biases in the society
Be it Arpana Caur’s paintings which speak about the kindness and devotion that only women are supposed to have which may often lead them to oppression or Mithu Sen’s sculpture of a human hair inviting viewers to interact with notions of beauty and revulsion, ‘Red Moon Songs’ leaves a lasting impact on the viewer. Curated by Georgina Maddox, 30 artists have showcased their work in different art forms; from paintings, video installations and sculptures to mixed media at the exhibition.
The concept of feminism is evident in every work but each artist essays it differently. While Gogi Saroj Pal and Kishore Chakraborty celebrate the power of women to fight back against oppression with the very tools that used for ‘domestic’ purposes, Sonia Khurana uses text to parody the ‘revolution’ that often excludes acts of celebration and freedom. Artists like Pratap Morey use the city as metaphor for body whereas Shivani Aggarwal speaks of body as garment that is made and unmade every day through the knotting. Performance artists like Himanshu Verma and Abhishek Chaudhary play with gender swapping-exploring feminine in the masculine, while Vikram Singh and Satadru Sovan talk of the anonymous spaces that any gender can occupy as does Tapati Choudhry's androgynous sculpture.
Nilanjana Nandi’s on-site installation and small format drawings presents the body as a form of scale and measure for understanding the world. Anna Kosarewska’s video work talks about releasing and washing away violence, oppression and division policy through a cathartic ritual. Satadru Sovan’s performance and artwork underlines the porous boundaries around gender, reality and fantasy and masculinity and femininity.
Why the name Red Moon SongsIJ “Red is the colour of blood and the moon, sometimes, guides the cycle of life of many women. Also red moon is worshiped in some religions. The show is about connecting the forgotten, often tabooed rituals that worship the moon with menstrual bleeding which in fact leads women towards being intuitive and powerful. It’s also about moving on from gender based thoughts and tapping a new energy in a contemporary context that cannot be restricted by gender”, Georgina says.
Thus ‘Red Moon Songs’ is about celebrating feminine energy, moving beyond gender towards a universal idea of feminism that is not linked to one's assigned gender. “The intention of the show is to uncover some myths and subvert the taboo of portraying women as unclean during her menstrual days to prevent her from entering places of worship. It is an attempt to reclaim great cosmic journey, by both feminine and masculine energies. It is also an attempt to reflect upon the porous social boundaries created around gender binaries”, the curator says.
The curator through the show has attempted to bridge the gender gap and biases. “In any one culture, certain behaviors or practices may be widely recognized as ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ irrespective of whether they are adopted by women or by men. Femininities and masculinities are not descriptors of sexual orientation. Hence taking off from this reasoning, my intention is to map the feminine within the masculine and to reflect upon the masculine within the feminine, irrespective of biological gender of the artist, to tap the spirit of the feminine”, she says. Georgina worked for several months to come up with this show, “I started working on the show in March. It has organically grown into something quiet complex where works are speaking to each other in a manner that is better than I anticipated”, she says.