What does it mean to look at feminist art history through the experiences of women across generations? Curator Linsey Young explores this question in ‘Women on the Edge of Time, an exhibition at Vadehra Art Gallery that brings together nine South Asian artists whose works engage with protest, climate change, ecology and resistance.
The exhibition, on view till September 18, takes its title and conceptual framework from American writer Marge Piercy’s 1976 novel Woman on the Edge of Time. Young says she discovered the novel while researching her 2023 exhibition ‘Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970–1990’ in London. As part of that research, she asked artists from the period about the novels they had been reading to understand the mood and ideas of the time.
British artist Lubaina Himid had recommended the novel to her. Young was particularly drawn to the way the novel deals with “the brutality of the state on women's bodies” while also imagining possibilities for a more equal future. These ideas shaped her approach to the exhibition.
Shared perspectives
The show brings together Anju Dodiya, Arpita Singh, Ashfika Rahman, Gurminder Sikand, Jai Chuhan, Jasleen Kaur, Leela Mukherjee, Mumtaz Karimjee and Sheba Chhachhi. Although the artists belong to different generations and backgrounds, Young sees a common link in how they explore women’s experiences and social and political realities.
“I love this combination because of its generosity to audiences and ability to communicate complex messages with warmth,” says Young.
The exhibition moves across different forms of feminist experience. Themes of protest, climate disaster, patriarchal systems of control, and sisterhood appear through the works. Rather than presenting feminism as a single or fixed idea, the exhibition brings together different approaches to questions of power, identity and resistance.
Climate and disasters
Ecology is an important part of this conversation. Young believes climate change cannot be separated from questions of inequality. “Climate disaster is one of the most pressing concerns of our time and disproportionately affects women and people who are often the most disadvantaged in society,” she remarks. “It is tied up with issues of capitalism and colonialism with the West draining resources and adversely affecting global communities. Often historic or indigenous methods of things like farming are disrupted with devastating effects on communities.”
Bangladeshi artist Ashfika Rahman’s ‘Dheu’, made with stone marbles and silk threads, looks at the impact of climate change on people living in Bangladesh’s Delta region. Rahman worked with local children, who each collected a marble and dedicated it to someone who had lost their life due to floods in the region. Bound together with thread and spread across the room in the shape of a wave, the marbles reflect the movement of water and a landscape that is constantly changing and disappearing.
Meanwhile, Anju Dodiya and Gurminder Sikand include references to the ecofeminist Chipko movement in their works. The artworks feature dreamlike, surrealist figures of women juxtaposed with trees in the same frame.
A series of photographs by Indian photographer Sheba Chhachhi documents protests and draws attention to feminist histories and movements. Her ‘From the Barricades’ brings together photographs taken in Delhi between the 1980s and mid-1990s. The monochrome images show women taking part in anti-dowry demonstrations in areas such as Nangloi and at India Gate, with scenes of women marching and raising slogans appearing throughout the series. One photograph also shows theatre actor and activist Moloyshree Hashmi performing in the street play Aurat. Similarly, British photographer Mumtaz Karimjee’s portraits of Indian women activists foreground stories of feminist and anti-colonial resistance.
The exhibition also features a work by Leela Mukherjee, one of the first women sculptors of modern India. Rather than focusing on the anatomical detail, her carved wood sculpture presents the female body through soft, rounded forms.
Towards greater freedoms
According to Young, the idea of feminist history is also about looking beyond the most familiar narratives. She argues that the art world can sometimes treat a work as feminist simply because it features women. “The histories that I and many others are interested in are more messy, complicated and political,” she says, adding that conversations around violence, capitalism and authority can often be uncomfortable within institutions.
The title ‘Women on the Edge of Time’, for Young, does not only suggest uncertainty or vulnerability. It also points towards change. “I think I am an optimistic person,” she says. While inequalities faced by women remain a daily reality, she believes collective action can help create a better future. “For me ‘the edge’ is one from control to greater freedoms.”