Malavika Rao
Life in the Zenana
2020
Text | Images
Life in the Zenana (2020) is a series of paintings that contemplates the experiences of women inhabiting the zenanas of Mughal India. Confined to the zenana, I imagine its citizens take refuge in a dream - a dream of a different world. A world where identity is not inextricably linked with oppression. A world that is supportive, caring, and generous. A world that jubilates queerness and abundance. They dream that, in this world, we will have learnt how to offer criticism with compassion and accept it with vulnerability. In this world, they dream that we have finally learnt how to love. Inevitably, the duties of the domestic summon the women, and they (we) are transported back to the zenana to live another day in a world that is unlike the one of their (our) dreams. The women of the paintings may be bound to the zenana, but perhaps their dreams can help set us free.
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