Kalki's 'Shattered Silence' is a scream for empowering trans community

Transgender activist Kalki Subramaniam's artworks were recently displayed at Durbar Hall Art Gallery in Kochi
Artist Kalki Subramaniam poses before her paintings at Durbar Hall, Kochi
Artist Kalki Subramaniam poses before her paintings at Durbar Hall, Kochi(Photo | Special Arrangement)
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KOCHI: “Ma’am, I just wanted to know why you chose to paint and display Che Guevara,” asked a young college girl immersed in an acrylic painting by transgender activist Kalki Subramaniam, who recently held an art show at Durbar Hall in Kochi.

“I took almost a year to paint this,” Kalki replied.  “And when I was painting it, I didn’t know that he was homophobic. It was after I completed painting that my American friends came telling me that Che Guevara was queerphobic. They, too, asked why I was painting him. Maybe, Che was transphobic then; if he had been born today, he would have been much more supportive. So, I will keep him. Back then, maybe he didn’t get to meet someone like Kalki or Sheethal Shyam.”

Kalki, who is also an artist and the author of the book We Are Not the Others, is nonchalantly clear about her thoughts, ideals and vision. And this was evident at the ‘Shattered Silence’ exhibition she hosted in Kochi.

Interestingly, three of the gallery walls displayed images generated with the help of AI. One upheld the theme of reservation for transgender people, while another celebrated the beauty of their identity. “At least five different software were used to create each work,” said Kalki.

Artist Kalki Subramaniam in action
Artist Kalki Subramaniam in action

She wouldn’t let anyone dismiss art with AI integration as not being real art. “Just because you type a letter, would you say that the computer typed that letter? No. You wrote the letter. Similarly, all the colouring, captions, and emotions in the artworks are mine. My ideas, and they come from here,” said Kalki, pointing to her heart.

She adds that technology and the internet have helped her reach a wider audience, and also communicate ideas more effectively. However, there is a flipside. “There are strangers who pester me with messages that reduce my whole existence about getting into a bed with someone,” Kalki sighed.

One striking painting represents the queer community in a grid of colourful faces. “This was inspired by a lot of queer people I had met in the journey of life. And when I drew this, I made a mistake as one of the face’s proportions went wrong. But then I thought that there are people who have faces like that, and there would be beauty in it,” she said.

Kalki also included lines of poetry in her artworks that resonate with her demand for gender rights. A charcoal drawing, which she completed within an hour, represented her friends in the slums of Chennai.

“Generally, in most of my works, I use a lot of colours. That’s my signature, as there is an urgency in me to draw attention to our causes,” says Kalki, who founded Sahodari Foundation, which works on educating, fostering entrepreneurship, and empowering young transgender individuals.

 “Our current fight is for the right of reservation. We have moved from — ‘give us education, give us jobs’ to fighting for reservation. We need a 1 per cent reservation in all states,” she said.

“We cannot be begging and doing sex work for another generation. Ten years have passed since the Supreme Court made the judgment accepting transgenders as a third gender. However, we are yet to be accepted by society, even by family in many cases. As a result, transgender people are still being exploited, trapped in trafficking and sex trade. A reservation will mean the next level of acceptance; of equality and social justice.”

She highlighted that, in 2021, Karnataka became the only state to include a reservation (1 per cent) for transgender people. “There has been no progress after that,” noted Kalki, who is a member of the National Transgender Council.

“Sometimes I wonder whether the governing authorities genuinely care about us, beyond making political statements. But we will not let that dampen our willpower to fight for our rights.”

The Red Wall Project

The Red Wall Project, which was part of the exhibition, showcased a series of testimonials from transgender individuals, detailing their personal experiences of sexual harassment. Each account was accompanied by the individual’s palm impression in red.

“We have been doing this for the past 10 years. The last time we did this was in Thiruvananthapuram, after which we interviewed many more people in Kerala,” said Kalki.

Kalki Subramaniam's The Red Wall project
Kalki Subramaniam's The Red Wall project

She recalled a group of students who had come to view the project in Coimbatore, sitting on a bench and weeping after reading the testimonials.
“The idea sprouted from my own pain,” she said.

“My transition from manhood to womanhood, in many ways, involved a lot of discrimination and trauma. Today, however, I don’t live a life that I don’t choose. This is the life that I chose, and I don’t live for someone else. I might beg, or do sex work, but then I celebrate life as I want. I live my dreams.”

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