Artemisia Gentileschi's work inspires a new show

‘And The Falchion Passed Through His Neck’, a new group exhibition curated by Jasmine Wahi, takes place at New Delhi-based Latitude 28. Here are excerpts from the curatorial essay:

When I was still in the nascent stages of my art history love affair, I encountered Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian artist from the early seventeenth century who inspired me not only as a student hungering for controversy in art, but also as a budding women's activist.

Though there are still many areas where women are denied these basic rights, we have come far from where we were several centuries before. The matriarchs of art have brought us where we are today, and drawing from their strength, today's creative and empowered women are able to continue pushing forward for universal practice of freedoms for all.

This exhibition is an acknowledgement of progression from the social confines of the past and a look at the 'rebellious' imagery that continues to push us forward. It is a reinterpretation of the historical, religious and social views of women. Each work approaches overtly sexually suggestive or pugnacious imagery as a means to convey female empowerment in contemporary society. The distinctive use of ‘promiscuous’ symbolism and violence serves as a positive rebellion against the suppression of women as sexually and politically empowered beings. Gentileschi's 'Judith Beheading Holofernes' (circa 1612), has served as the springboard for this exhibition.

Samira Abbassy's ‘Infidelity’ (2009), is another pseudo-self-portrait that takes a page from Gentileschi's justifiably vengeful painting. In Abbassy's image, an unidentified, yet remarkably Holofernes-like figure's head rests haphazardly on the floor. Abbassy's aesthetic draws from ancestral techniques employed by miniaturists. She rejects conventional perspectives of foreground and background and instead ranks the prominence and power of each figure by size. The employment of size variations is subtle fodder indicating the dominance of the female figure.

Chitra Ganesh's self portrait as Rani of Jhansi (2005), the woman warrior of India who led a siege against the British, is another exemplification of a 'hurrah!' moment in women's history. Although she is slain in this image, I see it not as a tragic print, but as an empowering instance of dynamic perseverance.