As information of the Hathras rape unfold in September 2020, anger, grief and helplessness raged throughout the nation. Men and ladies had been united in condemning the rise of crimes in opposition to ladies.
Telangana-based artist Maredu Ramu reacted to the information by starting work on an set up titled My Boundary, which contains a blindfolded sari-clad model wrapped in barbed wire.
“The woman [in my work] is now choosing this extreme way to remain safe,” says Ramu, explaining the pink and yellow circles on which the set up stands, are representations of the kumkum (vermilion) and haldi (turmeric); the 2 symbols of a married lady in Indian society.
“The application of kumkum and haldi (called pasupu) is celebrated as a symbol of protection but that is a farce,” he says, including, “Though it hurts her, she’s safer this way, against the lecherous men she has to encounter.”
He additional factors out that the circles might additionally stand for a bindi.
“The circle has always been celebrated by the great artist SH Raza and more recently Bharati Kher too,” says Ramu.
Ramu, who hails from Pedapally village in Telangana, did his MFA at Central University in Hyderabad. Though he works with totally different mediums, Ramu has expressed himself largely in acrylics of city landscapes.
My Boundary is presently on present at Kashi Art gallery in Fort Kochi and can journey to Bengaluru in mid-May and likewise be proven in Mumbai and New Delhi later this 12 months.
