The Indian artist talks about her evolving notions of female desirability and femininity.

&ldquo;I grew up in India, and as a young woman in the 80s and 90s, the dominant form of media was cinema. And in Indian cinema, there&rsquo;s this archetype, this dominant image of how a desirable Indian woman should be: To have long, flowing hair, to have a sari that touches your skin in just the right way. I knew that image was a symbol of the patriarchy, that it was just created for the male fantasy and gaze, and I hated it, but still, I ended up comparing myself to it. I grew up with a sense of inadequacy because I was not that woman.

I&rsquo;ve questioned this image in several of my works. In 2020, I did &lsquo;Production of Desire&rsquo;, a performance work where I wore a red sari, traditional jewellery, and a long wig; my head was shaven. And my gaze in the film was very challenging &mdash; I was always looking directly at the camera, confronting it. I was making a statement: That these images are all constructs. I wanted to subvert the image of a traditionally desirable woman, because I&rsquo;m not supposed to be doing that: I&rsquo;m a 47-year-old woman, I have greying hair, I&rsquo;m a mother and wife &mdash; the role of a &lsquo;desirable woman&rsquo; was not meant for me. But I&rsquo;m stepping into that role and reclaiming it in my own way, and in doing so, I&rsquo;m altering these definitions of femininity and desirability.&rdquo;
Photography&nbsp;Lavender Chang
Styling&nbsp;Gregory Woo

Kanchana wears Rose de Noël earrings in yellow gold with mother-of-pearl and diamonds, VAN CLEEF & ARPELS.

Artist Kanchana Gupta on the male gaze: "I hated that image, but I compared myself to it"

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Artist Kanchana Gupta on the male gaze: "I hated that image, but I compared myself to it"

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