Her utopian world of shadows

The concept of a ‘female-led utopia’ forms the beating heart of Tarini Sethi’s practice. The 35-year-old artist believes in subverting the conventional stereotypes of sexuality, female identity, gender, beauty and perfection. A Memory of the Future, at Tokyo’s Galerie Geek Art is an invitation for viewers to enter a dreamlike realm where memories of today will hopefully shape “seeds of tomorrow”. Although Sethi both draws and paints, this time she showcased her metal sculptures which envision a Tomorrowland free from political, social and personal conflicts and filled with a profound sense of love and harmony.

While the cynic inside us might find it tempting to dismiss Sethi as naive and her vision as quixotic, she seems to be deeply committed to creating a fantastical oasis that pushes the boundaries of mainstream thinking. “Through my art, I want to expose the imbalance of human relationships. World building and futurism is the central focus here. Life seems closer to perfect, bridging the ever-growing gap of kinship,” says the Delhi-based Sethi.

With their ever-shifting shadows of dance and play, the metal sculptures blur the boundary between reality and fantasy. “In my imagined world, bodies are freed from the idea of obscenity and the so-called male gaze. Instead they serve as perfect vessels for exploration, action and sexual emancipation. The flickering shadows they cast present an intimate and unfettered Elysian mirror world that one can see but never quite reach,” she says.

As a young woman growing up in urban India, Sethi, who’s also the curator of India’s first anti-art art fair called Irregulars Art Fair, acknowledges that the objectification and sexualisation of women’s bodies was something that has long worried her. After completing her BFA from the Pratt Institute in New York in 2014, she started focusing on themes of intimacy, body consciousness and gender politics.

“I’ve always wondered about the things our bodies have the power to do, and in a society like ours, aren’t allowed to do. That’s why I decided to invent my own utopia,” Sethi says, adding that crafting these metal sculptures is a time-intensive exercise that often evokes the processes of an artisan. “It’s a lot like puzzle making. I make a drawing, enlarge it, then cut out the pieces with a laser cutting machine and weld them,” she smiles.

A Memory of the Future marks something of a personal milestone for Sethi, who has long been obsessed with Japanese pop culture. For example, the sensuality and sexual freedom found in both Shunga (a Japanese erotic art made with wood block printing) and the Kama Sutra have been a major influence.

“It’s interesting how there is so much that we are not taught and educated about, especially when both Japan and India’s cultural histories are so rich in sexuality and erotica,” observes Sethi. Her works because of their uncompromising nature, seek to question, disrupt and redefine the status quo.

Story by Shaikh Ayaz