KOCHI: As the Supreme Court is all set to decide on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises homosexuality, a team of seven artists is busy organising an exhibition that expresses their notions on being gay, love and desire. Queerala, an organisation for Malayali LGBTIQ people, will organise Homomorphism II, an art exhibition that tries to express the invisible impressions of same-sex intimacy, at Kerala History Museum from July 14 to 21.
Seven artists, Pragya Pallavi from Mumbai, Aishwaryan Kumaran and T K Sandeep from Bengaluru, Arvin Ombika from Mauritius, Santanu Dutta from Kolkata and Mahesh M and Jijo Kuriakose from Kochi, will exhibit their artistic creations inspired from the innate synchronism of self acceptance and self representation.
Art critic Kavitha Balakrishnan, activist Rekha Raj and Aditi N will be the chief guest at the inaugural function at 11 am on Saturday.
“It is an attempt to compose a new language in the art arena to confront the homophobic impulses in Kerala and present certain unreal gestures of homosexual orientation. The exhibition attempts to compose novel metonymies of liberation by exploring art as a tool of resistance and advocate inclusive art space,” said Jijo Kuriakose.
The artists will try to give expressions to same-sex intimacy, explore lesbian emotions, and explore how male physique can be fascinating for the same sex. The queer community in Kerala, which stays mostly invisible under the blanket of the stigma attached to sexuality, seeks cultural projections to overcome the hurdles.
The seven artists form different geographical and linguistic backgrounds are joining hands to give expression to their feelings, he said.