Portfolio > Drawings

My mixed-media works on paper explore identity, desire, female sexuality, and human connection. I am interested in the obsession with and control of the female body across cultures and the duality we have to maintain between being “sexy” yet “virtuous.” I explore these themes through a playful, irreverent visual language.

In my work, the choli is a stand-in for me and the female body. I collage and cut out portions of my garments and incorporate them into my work. I cut Bengali matrimonial advertisements into objects, alluding to the commoditization of marriage and the control of sexuality. I reference the internet and texting, tools that have revolutionized love, allowing forbidden connections. I include sliced photographs, highlighting the relationship between painting, photography, and memory.

In these works on paper, I start directly showing the nude figure, sometimes partially covered or veiled with sari fabric. The sari can be used as a veil to cover the face and symbolizes woman’s virtue in Hindu mythology. I cut designs into the sari fabric, a reference to the latticed walls in the women’s chamber (the Hawa Mahal) in Moghul palaces. These perforated walls allowed royal women to observe the world outside while still observing purdah.

I use reds and pinks as a feminist allusion to fertility and passion, reclaiming feminine power and defying controls on love and women (such as Saudi Arabia’s ban on the color red in February 2009).

The veiled men are inspired by Begum Rokeya's early feminist short story, "Sultana's Dream" (1905), in which women rule the world and men are veiled and kept in seclusion.

Estrogen 11
graphite, ink, watercolor, thread, and cut panties on vellum paper
14 x 17 inches (35 x 43 cm)
2011
Estrogen 10
graphite, ink, watercolor, newspaper, and cut sari on watercolor paper
18 x 24 inches (46 x 61 cm)
2011
Estrogen 9
graphite, watercolor, and newspaper on watercolor paper
15 x 22 inches (38 x 56 cm)
2011
Estrogen 8
graphite, ink, watercolor, and cut sari on vellum paper
14 x 17 inches (35 x 43 cm)
2011
Estrogen 7
graphite, ink, cut sari and panties on watercolor paper
46 x 61 cm (18 x 24 in)
2011
Magic Carpet Ride 2
graphite, ink, watercolor, and cut sari on vellum paper
35 x 43 cm (14 x 17 inches)
2011
Estrogen 6
graphite, ink, newspaper, watercolor, and cut sari on watercolor paper
38 x 56 cm (15 x 22 inches)
2011
Estrogen 5
graphite, ink, henna, watercolor, and acrylic on vellum paper
35 x 43 cm (14 x 17 inches)
2011
Estrogen 4
graphite, ink, watercolor, and cut sari on watercolor paper
38 x 56 cm (15 x 22 inches)
2011
Hawa Mahal  2
graphite, ink, newspaper, and cut sari on vellum paper
35 x 43 cm (14 x 17 inches)
2011
Magic Carpet Ride
graphite, ink, and newspaper on watercolor paper
46 x 61 cm (18 x 24 in)
2011
Hawa Mahal
graphite, ink, watercolor, newspaper, photo collage, and cut sari on vellum paper
35 x 43 cm (14 x 17 inches)
2011
Estrogen 3
graphite, ink, watercolor, acrylic, human hair, newspaper, and cut sari on watercolor paper
46 x 61 cm (18 x 24 in)
2011
Estrogen 2
graphite, ink, watercolor, newspaper, and cut sari and panties on vellum paper
35 x 43 cm (14 x 17 inches)
2011
Estrogen 1
graphite, ink, watercolor, newspaper, cut sari and panties on watercolor paper
38 x 56 cm (15 x 22 inches)
2011