What happens when first-generation Indian artists living in the West create art? Find out…
There are some artists who see their work up in the galleries at the stroke of their paintbrush (or their Apple Pencil). And then there are those whose artwork doesn’t make it till there at all. Instagram then, becomes their social media gallery to showcase their work. But what happens when first-generation Indian artists living in the West decide to create art using the platform? The result is humorous artwork featuring nosy desi aunties with speech bubbles, sexy bahus challenging the idea of an ideal wife, figures proudly flaunting body hair and inside jokes about our society with an underlying message.
Two's Company Growing up as first-generation kids with immigrant parents sees the best of both cultures. Nimisha Bhanot, a Toronto-based Indian artist who paints south Asian women as pin-up girls and bahus challenging norms, says she had difficulty discovering her identity while growing up. “I could never pick or choose how Indian I wanted to be or how Canadian I wanted to be. I felt that taking on one identity meant giving up another because of how different they were.”
So she decided to contrast both ideals in her artwork to mimic the process of constructing one’s bicultural identity. In the event of Jyoti Singh’s rape case in 2012, she started creating art which explored societal role and perception of the south Asian woman from a bicultural lens. “I wanted to touch upon sexual liberation. North American and south Asian portrayals of sexuality and sexual confidence are very different. I’ve never noticed pin-up art featuring women of colour,” says Bhanot, who appropriates older pin-up art to create one featuring Indian women with hard-hitting humour.
Her bicultural identity hasn’t affected Manhattan-based artist and food writer, Soni Singh’s work. “In fact, it is my work. Everything has this underlined presence of my hyphenated identity. It is how I eat, cook, draw, express myself, etc.’’ Her work, she says, is what her community often talks and jokes about. “There is some funny shit that happens when one straddles two cultures,” she adds.
Art With A Message Being told ‘no’ a lot by her parents because of the ‘log kya kahenge’ mentality translated into the sass you see portrayed in Maria Qamar’s work. “I wasn't allowed to do much as a kid, so the themes explored come from the views of a rebel living in a sheltered community,” she says. The Toronto-based artist began Hatecopy, using Lichtenstein-style pop art featuring dramatised desi aunties inspired from daily soaps and real life situations taking digs on the society. “Things like always having talks about marriage from an early age but never being allowed to hang around boys and wearing a saree to prom were little things I found infuriating growing up. Now, they're just hilarious,” she says.
Bhanot agrees too. She has been painting Indian bahus with a twist for the longest time. One of her series, Badass Brides, was inspired by her cousin who married outside their community. “This was the first time someone close to me did so. Growing up, I’ve had a lot of elders tell me that I should find a good Hindu boy that knows all about our religion and customs but I never agreed with it.” She’s nowhere near wanting to get married, she says, but she refuses to limit her options to “just good Hindu boys.” Badass Brides portrays confident inter-faith brides and addresses a woman’s right to a marriage of her choice, regardless of cultural limitation. “There are women all over south Asia and the rest of the world that live the lives of the subjects in my paintings and they must be celebrated, not swept under the rug.”
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The reason for their work’s popularity, they speculate, is perhaps because people find their artwork relatable. Qamar’s work has found a fan in Mindy Kaling even. “People normally tag their friends and share inside jokes that I creep on. I absolutely love the comments where the girls come up with code names for the boy they're relating my drawings to. I used to do the same thing in high school,” she says. Bhanot says the best complement is when people tell her that they resonate with her work and find solace in it. “I’ve had people from different cultural backgrounds tell me that my work reminds them of their own struggles finding their identity within the realm of two cultures,” says Bhanot.
But there’s criticism too. “I’ve had some negative feedback too from people that don’t like the subject matter of my work, but they all compliment my painting before they insult the subject matter and I love it,” Bhanot says, laughing. Singh, who goes as Sketchy_desi on Instagram, says she has had her share of aunties and uncles who have told her “that I need to create babies, not art.” She’s even had strangers tell her on social media “that some of my artwork is disrespectful and that as a married woman, I need to shut my mouth. It just fuels me more. But haters are gonna hate, right?”
Do It Right Ayqa Khan, New York-based artist whose work aims at normalising body hair, says your intentions as an artist should never be “to stand out on Instagram.” “It is just another platform to gain exposure and connect with an audience as well as future employers,” she says. Because a lot of brands, art spaces and creative people have such quick access to connect with you, it is a space to get opportunities. “Instagram is becoming a scouting tool almost—a place to find what you need, or find something you didn’t know existed,” she says.
The title or the captions to the work are very important because it bridges the gap of understanding between the artist and the viewer, especially when they have a touch of humour. “I like my titles to have a humorous flare because I think I’m addressing some serious subject matter but I want the work to be approachable and relatable,” says Bhanot. Qamar says humour is the only way she knows “to cope with these shitty situations.” Her characters say things like, ‘even coconut oil can’t fix this marriage’ and ‘I put salt in her chai.’ “Some aunties would actually use the same dialogues or pick up habits from the dramas appearing on TV and I found that funny,” she says.
Bhanot, who has 5,724 followers on Instagram, took inspiration from her art school teacher who’d photographed her work in progress. “Sometimes I post video of me painting, sometimes a progress photograph, sometimes I share artists that influence my work. I try to post as frequently as possible and all the love I get online just pushes me to make more.’’ Stay honest to your subject and hashtag your work, she says—you never know who’s going to see it.
Post progress, failure, success and any personal milestone. “Don't be afraid of being too transparent. I found a lot of great friends and collaborators as well as mentors because of social media and I continue to interact with a ton of cool people around the world with my art,’’ says Qamar. She has over 50,000 followers and the secret, she says, “is to stop worrying about followers and pay attention to the quality of your work. If you're good, you will get noticed. If you're not, you might still get noticed. Have fun with it!” Search for accounts posting similar things to learn and get new ideas and collaborate with artists you look up to. “This helps us to look at certain topics from a different lens and teaches us a lot about each other,” says Qamar.
Going Ahead
Bhanot says artists should stay diligent and network as much as possible. “Meet the people you follow if you can. Having a presence in your local art community is just as important as online because it allows the opportunity for face-to-face discussion between the artist and the viewer.” And you could even find inspiration for your next work from the stories they tell you. It can be a bit tricky too because often, people who have never met you are using this platform to make assumptions and figure out who you are. Qamar says you must give yourself the time to grow. “The internet moves fast, but that doesn't mean you have to exhaust yourself to keep up. Good work always gets ahead on its own, and the better your work looks, the more opportunities you'll get,” she adds.
Take the opportunities that come to you, if you know you will work hard on them. Also, reaching out to people you want to work for is important too. People who interact with you want to see more of you. Give as much as you can in ways that are beneficial for yourself and your audience. “Do things you are scared of doing, like creating a brand out of your work, expanding your merchandise or trying a new medium. If you stay true to your vision, what’s meant to happen will,” says Khan.
Having trained in art formally isn’t necessary. A self-taught artist herself, not having a formal art training hasn’t stopped Qamar from learning different styles. “I keep researching and chatting with mentors who can properly walk me through the process of using different mediums to bring my work to life,” she says.
You know you’re a first-generation Indian when…
You have to answer questions of nosey aunties and uncles at desi gatherings and family get-togethers.
You have to explain to your community that you cook for a living and not just for your husband, and that you can actually live off by creating art.
Your parents make fun of you when you speak your mother tongue and you making fun of your parents when they speak English.
You wonder how there are no amount of safety pins to hold up a damn saree when you try and rock one.
You have to suffer through watching Baghban with your parents and get the vibe that they think their children may be assholes like the ones in the movie.
You’re amused every time you see a Thums Up bottle and wonder if the missing ‘b’ is a snafu that the company played off as an intentional misspelling. Where were you spellcheck?
--- Soni Singh
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