14 September 2015

The Trip to Alliance Française by Manasvini Nayar ,Grade 12A

Inspired by the recent “Resonance” festival held at school, which focused on masculinity, Grade 11 and 12 French students visited an art exhibition on Gender at Alliance Française.  The exhibition titled “Women in Time, Space and Material” housed the works of various artists such as Moumita Ghosh, Shrimati Saha, Krishna Mourari and several others. The

exhibition questioned whether the choice of material used to express in a certain visual manner carried any indicator of any gender attributes. Do different genders choose to express themselves through different materials, and are there any define boundaries in the choice of material that is restricting or liberating in expression for the artist and the viewer?

The exhibition was fascinating and hosted the famous installation piece “Her Story” by the artist Krishna Mourari. The installation comprised of a pregnant woman dressed in animal skin with a house over her head, which narrates her experience as a woman.

The many art pieces encourage us to think deeper of what gender means to us. After visiting the exhibition, we also had a chance to go through the French library; the opportunity to experience French books was presented here. We also had an opportunity to interact with the director of the institution, Ms. Vasanthi Gupta.