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.
