Of creatives & queer conversations

Honesty is the best policy — the moral of the story for countless school lessons, stated at the end of a tale like the ultimate gospel of truth. And yet, how receptive are we, as a society, to all honesty? The experience of coming out of the closet about one’s sexuality, if it does not conform to the accepted heterosexuality, is definitely a far cry from these proverbs of our childhood. On June 28, 1969, members of the LGBTQIA+ community fought back centuries of repression at the Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York, known until then, to be a safe space for the community. This was a time when homosexuality was criminalised and police raids of gay establishments were rampant. On that night, however, resistance was put up by those gathered in the bar and thus born the first LGBTQIA+ rights movement. The next year, on the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, gay activists in New York took out the first pride parade to commemorate the uprising which over the years soon turned into a month of celebration in June that continues till today. When the movement needed a symbol, American artist Gilbert Baker came to the fore and designed the Rainbow Flag in 1978, with each colour representing a literal meaning.

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ANCIENT INDIA AND LGBTQIA+ HISTORY
The LGBTQIA+ community has a long recorded history in Ancient India. From our epics like the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata to our sculptures, there is a multitude of references that point to the practice of homosexuality. The temple complex of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, a legacy of the Chandela dynasty built around the 12th century, is an architectural marvel, more known for its erotic sculptures of passionate couples. Among these exquisite carvings that read like poetry are also a few that showcases the intimacy between same-sex couples, providing visual proof that homosexuality did exist back then and was not a Western import. In fact, it was the British invaders that brought on anti-LGBTQ laws in all their colonies which hugely impacted the community long after the colonists left. In a country like India that acknowledged the divine as being half man and half woman and worshipped the synthesis of the genders in the form of Ardhanarishvara with the right half being in the form of Lord Shiva and the left, the female deity Parvati, it is unfortunate that the long years under the influence of these colonial laws have made us, as a society, very conservative and close-minded in accepting what does not fit into the compartments of our narrow notions. In the realm of contemporary art, few artists have taken the bold step of proclaiming the gender they identified with through their works, when it went against most social norms and carved a path for themselves in the world of art. Let us celebrate their lives, their art and their struggles in this month of Pride.

BHUPEN KHAKHAR
One of India’s most distinguished artists, Bhupen Khakhar was perhaps the first Indian artist to come out openly as gay. His homosexual leanings, which he revealed after the death of his mother, were reflected in his works considered very bold for a nation that was still existing under the strict anti-LGBTQ laws imposed by the British. Painting male nudes wrapped in a close embrace was sheer guts at a time when most creativity chose to leave no trace of their maker’s sexual orientation if they veered from the norm.
‘You Can’t Please All’, a large oil painting from 1981 by Khakhar, showing a naked man leaning over a balcony with the town unfolding in the distance below shows a clear separation of his private world and the public world around. The title by itself is suggestive of his struggle to gain acceptance in a society riddled with puritan concepts.

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SUNIL GUPTA
Artist Sunil Gupta speaks volumes about the unfair treatment meted out to gay men around the world, through his photographs. Unabashedly gay himself, his journey as an artist was fraught with unacceptance, especially in India. When he showcased his works in 2012, he, not surprisingly, ran into a lot of trouble. Once the works were displayed, the venue was left unlocked while he went elsewhere for a few hours. An intruder broke in, took photographs of the exhibit and filed a police complaint, prompting the police to intervene and pull down the show on the opening day itself. It took him another ten years to mount his next solo show in Delhi. His series titled ‘Exiles’, featured gay men in front of famous tourist sites presented along with quotes from the subjects. In his next series which could be considered an updated version of ‘Exiles’, the gay couples featured seemed more defiant as they stared out of his photographs and though homosexuality was still illegal then, there seems to be a determination to fight against the odds in the postures of his subjects. As a victim of this marginalisation, his photographs take on an almost autobiographical tone.

ARYAKRISHNAN
When Maria, a toll collector in the Kollam district of Kerala was found dead with throat slit in 2012, Aryakrishnan, a college student at the time was deeply shocked at the brutal murder of his good friend. Maria, a trans person and a prominent LGBTQIA+ activist appeared in Aryakrishnan’s dream not long after and the artist took it as a sign to act to create a space and an identity for the queer community. Years later, at the 2018 Kochi Biennale, he came up with a project as an ode to all that Maria stood for.. Titled ‘Sweet Maria Monument’, he created a space where people could sit and chat, with queer literature strewn around and portraits of Maria filling the room. This interaction was his attempt at making people comfortable with the community. The artist also turned his work into a performance where he wore a skirt as he walked around the sprawling Biennale venues in Kochi. Aryakrishnan believes that it is important for him to create works that bring forth such non-categorical perspectives.

UTTAM CHITRAKAR
Uttam Chitrakar of Medinipur in West Bengal learnt the ancient art of Kalighat paintings at a very young age from leading Patachitra artist, Anwar Chitrakar. Not content with merely echoing the age-old themes, he addressed his concerns about the third gender through his paintings, all in the Kalighat style. “Some people think my figures are male, some feel they are women. But I wish to highlight the rights of the Third gender, who should enjoy equal rights like all,” Uttam once stated in an interview. By painting nautch girls with beards and men finding the reflection of a woman as they view themselves in a mirror, Uttam celebrates queer identities through his art.

 

BEING QUEER, BEING HOME
It is indeed heartening to see cultural spaces like the Kochi Biennale, galleries and museums support this celebration by providing platforms that aim for inclusiveness in all aspects. In June 2022, the Kolkata Centre for Creativity, a multidisciplinary art space, held the second edition of its exhibition, Learn Togetherness, to commemorate Pride Month. The exhibition aptly called, ‘Being Queer, Being Home’, explored the idea of ‘home’ through the eyes of the queer community. Forty-four artworks which included paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations, writings and performance art were selected through an open call. They were then showcased in a spectacular exhibition at the Centre, bending one’s idea of the general perception of what was normal. On a similar note, the non-profit volunteer group, Insideout Delhi regularly organises an art competition and exhibition to not just provide a space for LGBTQIA+ artists but also to expose the general public to the community. Their show in 2018, Refracted Lives, asked LGBTQIA+ artists to address the issue of how society affected their lives. Their later show named ‘Awakening’ was one of introspection where artists looked at their own awakening based on their experience of belonging to non-conforming genders and sexualities in India. For artists like Amir Rabbani from Bihar, who like most others, faced innumerable hurdles to get to where he was, the Insideout Project was a great way to finally come out of the closet.

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“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” Cultural expressions that sensitise people to the fact that the world is not just black and white but is filled with the beautiful hues of the rainbow, go a long way in contributing to the change. Creative interventions and engagements certainly influence rigid minds to accept every shade of love and embrace those who have been denied a space to just be themselves. This Pride Month, here’s hoping for a more tolerant, more loving and all inclusive world in the future!