Artists remember Dec 16 rape victim through exhibition

More than 50 artists here have contributed to an exhibition that remembers the "brave" Dec 16, 2012 gang-rape victim, and people who face atrocities in everyday life.

Works of eminent artists like Arpana Caur, Gopi Gajwani, Gogi Saroj Pal, Ved Nayar, Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Nupur Kundu, and others are on at the Dhoomimal Gallery in the national capital. The exhibition titled "Nirbhaya" was inaugurated Tuesday.

"She is a symbol of bravery and we thought of doing this exhibition to pay homage to the girl and everyone who face atrocities," K.R. Subbanna, curator, told IANS.

"When this incident happened, there were marches and candle-light vigils. People were out on the streets and they were furious. We wanted to do something then, but it wasn't possible. So, we thought it is best to organise it now so she doesn't fade away from our memories," he added.

It took Subbanna eight months to bring these artists together on board. Though no "theme" was given to any of them, they presented individual works for this exhibition.

"Participating artists have painted what they felt like. What is surprisingly coincidental is that most of them have painted women on their canvas, and this shows how vulnerable women are in our country," he said.

The exhibition ends May 25.