We live in one of the most repressive countries of the word where subjects like sex and sexuality are still ignorant and considered taboo. It's even harder for women who are shamed for being sexual but are constantly sexualized by men; like we don't own our own bodies. Reclaiming our sexuality against the patriarchal forces that don't want them to has been an important goal for women since the beginning of the feminist movement. Feminists from the 70s and 80s like Penny Slinger and Betty Tompkins had their art confiscated by the customs for being too lewd while women's bodies were casually used to sell everything from cars to men's colognes.
The same shame culture hovers around conversations of reproductive health and pleasure. Sex has been industrialised in India; it's linked to reproduction with no regard to the fun side of it. On one hand, parents don't mind asking their kids when they're going to give them grandchildren and on the other, sex before marriage and conversations about pleasure are condemned. In a society like this where words are restricted, imagery comes into the picture to save the day. Artists find a way to liberate and express themselves and bring awareness to sex and sexuality through their work.
So we have curated a list of some South Asian visual artists who work with the themes of sex and sexuality that challenges oppressive holds of shame.
Ishani Das
Ishani is a self-portrait photographer and videographer from Delhi. Apart from her livelihood that involves shooting ads and promotional campaign videos for brands like Luis Vitton India, Paro, Sulakshana Monga, Good Earth and more, the photographer likes to take 'self-portraits for the soul'. She is known for her gentle imagery using her own body to create affectionate and accepting narratives. Her work is an inviting portal into sensuality and sexuality.
Check out her work here.
Shibani Mitra
Shibani is a 23 year old art director and photographer born and based in the coastal town of Pondicherry. Shibani grew up absorbing the bright-statured colours of the tropics, the palm trees, and lotus pond. But she wasn't a fan of flowers, the colour pink, or anything "girly". As she grew up, her idea of femininity expanded and she got aware of her own internalised misogyny. Her work now is permeated by her love of flowers and the gentleness of the feminine.
Follow her work here.
Sanjay Tomar
Sanjay was born in a small village in India aiming to be an engineer. During his schooling he changed nine schools from village to metro cities. He credits variety in his work to the often movement in his life. Having received his diploma in photography from Shari academy in Mumbai, He now lives and works independently in Surat, Gujarat. Sanjay loves to work on projects involving story telling and believes that aesthetic is a universal solvent which could be readily dissolved into any form to bring about beauty into anything.
Follow his work here.
Emmanuel Akash
Emmanuel is a 26-year-old, self-taught artist who happens to be a marine electrical engineer by profession. He ventured into photography by documenting while travelling and eventually realised that his interests lie in creating concept-based human portraits. The distinct feature oh Emannuel's photos are the colours and colour-grading that he started exploring just a couple of years ago. “I play around with concepts and tone, try to bring life into the images. I want to be known for my signature,” he says in an interview.
Check out his work here.
Ratyaditya
Rataditya has been painting for a long time. He describes his work as polymorphic combining the tenets of individualism and collectivism. The artist painted women in feminity in its different forms for a while before moving to queer imagery as his ideas of his own sexuality and queerness were expanded. His favourite medium to create is ink and he has now moved to body painting through which he paints the stories people tell him about themselves. The themes of his work explore desire, freedom and expression.
Follow him here.
Rikrivu Banerjee
Rikrivu is an internationally published nude photographer based in Kolkata who is trying to normalize nudity with his images. He has been sharing his photos on Instagram since there were only a few photographers working with nudity. Rikrivu's Instagram page has also been pulled down twice because of the app's guideless and censorship rules. The photographer still continues to share his stunning portraits of women and their bodies championing sex and body positivity.
Follow him here.
Randhir Pratap Singh
Founder of Subculture, a handmade leather fashion brand, Randhir is also a fashion and visual designer. HIs brand is his outlet for celebrating pleasure, fantasy, romance, and eroticism. Drawing inspiration from the Indian heritage that is replete with references to eroticism, sexual pleasure, sexual fulfilment, and sexual fantasy, the products at Subculture aim to bridge the gap between fantasy, leather fetish fashion, and utility.
Follow him here.
Mohit Tiwari
Mohit is a Delhi-based photographer and a visual storyteller who has always been tantalized by aesthetics. His veneration for art and visuals has paved way for photography in his life. Something that started with capturing people and his surroundings, has now branched out into editorial and conceptual photography. Not only does photography caters as a means of self-expression for Mohit, it furthermore helps him in feeling liberated. His work reflects the same freedom of expression in his subjects.
Check out his work here.
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