BENGALURU: In an effort to engage in a dialogue on sexuality in the public domain, Kerosine Digital is holding a salon that’s open to all for discussion. The Salon brings together communities of artists, illustrators, writers, and thinkers to engage in conversation and discuss how art can drive change.
Initiating a dialogue on pertinent subjects, Kerosine Digital as a platform has been hosting a series of projects around topics that are less talked about.
This is an attempt to normalise those topics that are usually not discussed in the mainstream. As the organiser of the event, Caroline puts it, “A lot of topics around our body and sexuality are undercover. As Indians, we often don’t talk about our sex and sexuality which is so hush-hush. It is treated as a form of evil - see no evil, talk no evil, hear no evil, and this also seen another form of evil.”
Randy Scarhol, visual content creator, and a drag queen emphasises on the need of breaking the binary construct of gender and sexuality, saying that it is a concept that was brought in by the British. Talking about what the discussion at the event will entail, she says, “The art we have created through history has always had a message about gender and sexuality, which doesn’t have to have a binary construct, however, after colonisation that discourse changed,” adding further, Randy says, “Mainstream art in India does not talk about gender and sexuality, because we are a marginilised group and this is a complex subject. But right now there are a lot of artists who are expressing their gender and sexuality through art.”
The other artist at the event, Bharath Savithri Divakar, who is a spoken word poet, will be talking about sexuality and how our experiences shape us. “When we are talking about marginilsed topics such as gender and sexuality, what matters a lot is the visibility. What art does, is to give visibility to things we don’t speak about. It can be empowering for other people to see someone on stage who is proud and confident about their sexuality. That is very empowering, it also opens up a lot of conversations, which is a beautiful thing,” he adds.
The Salon: Discussing Art and Sexuality will be held at the Bohemian House, Rajaramohan Roy Road today from 7.30 pm onwards. Entry is free, but make sure you RSVP at https://bit.ly/2vzBD2a