People often associate Northeast India with craftspersons and artisans as opposed to visual artists. In an attempt to change this perception and to bring to the forefront stories of women from Meghalaya, four female artists from the state have come together to showcase ‘Her Art-Handpicked Experiences’, an ongoing exhibition—it opened to the public on Saturday and will continue till November 26—at the city’s Meghalayan Age-The Store, which is the flagship state emporium in the Capital.
Of traditions and posterity
As the name ‘Her Art’ suggests, the themes explored in this exhibition are intricately linked to women and include birth, motherhood, and matriliny. In a collaboration across mediums, printmaker Careen Joplin Langstieh—who uses charcoal and organic stains as her primary medium—and Ridahunlang Gatphoh—who is known for her works of Black Clay Pottery or Khiew Ranei—have presented the art installation titled ‘Birth’. Careen says, “I was very interested in the use of the Jain-it [a baby sling wrap used by the Khasi tribe] and Rida has used birth as a scene for her pottery.”
Explaining the collaboration, Ridahunlang—who has incorporated clay with bamboo and cane—mentions, “Coming together, I feel, we managed to incorporate the same theme well. When Careen started working with Jain-it, which is very symbolic as it is the first gift given by the mother-in-law to the daughter-in-law’s child as a blessing. My end comes from the traditional practices of pottery that I’ve been working with; it’s how pottery is used for various traditional practices and rituals including during the birth of a newborn when it [pottery] is used to heat the water and oil.” Both these mediums, though different, have similar elements. Careen adds, “The Jain-It and Rida’s pottery—seems to be falling into place as it’s all related to the child and of understanding our system and clan.”
For and by women
Another segment of this exhibition, ‘Mawbyrsiew’, is by visual practitioner Balaiamon Kharngapkynta, who has two series—printmaking and lithography. Talking about her work ‘Screaming Egg’, which Balaiamon mentions was a difficult piece to make as she used eight colours, which is a tedious task in lithography, she adds, “In this piece, the women are in the form of an egg. You can see her scream but you can’t hear her.”
On Saturday, apart from witnessing a panel discussion, spectators also enjoyed a music performance by singer Maya Lyngdoh Mawlong. Talking about her performance, she tells us, “I grew up listening to Khasi lullabies. In my music, I modernised these songs in a way that people will relate to now.”Every facet of this experiential was focused keeping the women of the state in mind. Giving us an idea as to why this showcase stressed on female artists and their works, Ridahunlang concluded, “In Meghalaya, women are usually the custodians. However, we feel there’s not been much space for women to express themselves outside the community. Through this exhibition, we are trying to share their stories with the rest of the world.”
