Womanhood through the brush of a 70-year-old Indian artist

Mumbai-based gallery Method Kala Ghoda re-opens on July 1 after almost one year with 'She's In The Streets, She's In The Stars' by septuagenarian artist Santosh Jain. The art is a collection of experiences over seven decades which include the lives of different women and that of the artist herself.
During the lockdown, the gallery has not only been renovated but also added a whole new level for a bigger, better, and more immersive art experience.

The show highlights the prevalent patriarchal system that exists in society based on these experiences. The 70-year-old artist works with digital and is completely self-taught gives a great perspective to creating fine art through digital means.

"Over seven decades, I have borne witness to the lives of many different women, a number of which being myself. The theme of womanhood in all its forms, seen and unseen, has been a constant thread through the career of my artmaking. While the medium has changed, the presence and significance of women has not. Historically speaking, women have rarely been the central character of any story."

"Rather, they have been pushed into the background, their roles, desires, and existence nothing more than of service to others. Through my art, I've explored the many ways in which women are an integral part of society, family, and life itself. These works are a second language which allow me to freely share long forgotten episodes of my lifetime, my innermost feelings. Sometimes the same woman recurs in multiple artworks, and sometimes her presence is fleeting, though no less important. The women in my artwork are you, they are me. They are in the stars, they are in the streets," says the senior artist about her show.

Jain's art career began in 1971 as a young Printmaker in College Of Art, Delhi. Her prints earned her an inclusion in prestigious artist associations -- Group 8, Shilpi Chakra, Lalit Kala Akademi, Bombay Art Society and AIFACS.

Her recurring subjects include 'women' and 'the exploited' that expand into empathy and layered personal narratives. She refers to these works as 'her second language, which allows her to freely share long forgotten episodes of her life and her innermost feelings'.


The exhibition is open till July 25. - IANS