High school students from across the country potray through art what it means for them to live in a gender defined world.
An exhibition "The Gender Defined World" put up recently here witnessed students of class 11 and class 12 putting up a total of 22 artworks based on individual outlook on their identities in the context of gender attitudes in society.
Organised by UK-based Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), the show as an upshot of the international art competition titled "Who are you? - In a gender defined world" which was organised by the university late last year.
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The artworks showcased were selected out of the 100 best entries evaluated by a panel of judges which included Designer Sujata Keshavan, art editor Shazia Chaudhry, architect Madhu Pandit, art curator Alka Pande and film academic Samar Nakhate.
17-year-old Muzammil Hussain from Dehradun who bagged the top prize in the competition depicted himself as a boy who had covered his face with a veil with only the eyes visible.
"Without distinguishing between males and females all I can see is a world full of beautiful souls and the eyes in my painting are looking forward to a world like that. They will keep on looking unless we make out world like that," Hussain says.
Apart from Hussain, Richa Jain and Upam Lakhar from Dehradun along with Akshita Wadhwana from Delhi and Kuheli Raha from West Bengal, were among the top five winners of the competition.
Jain, 18, in her painting depicts a girl breaking through from a wall. "I will not sit passive anymore... You want me to be rooted, cultured but what is the use of it all if I am unable to spread my wings and fly" she says.
Akshita Wadhwana, 17, has in her video project Metamorphose depicts a reflection of the gendered society that surrounds her.
"In a society where each individual is made to fit a category, a defined role, I believe that it's important to question these very norms... The video highlights my need to not define myself according to these norms," Wadhwana says.
