VOL 1 No 2, 2024 Research Article
Ahmed Abdullah Bin Farooqi Rayhan
Graduate Student, Department of English, Jahangirnagar University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21659/jsae/v1n2/v1n204
[Article History: Received: 19 Jun 2024. Revised: 30 Jul 2024. Accepted: 18 Aug 2024. Published: 30 Aug 2024]
Abstract
Amrita Sher-Gil’s paintings deploy ocular symbolism that serves as potent tools in dismantling and redefining prevailing masculine stereotypes of Indian society. Her distinctive approach to paintings turns her canvases into eloquent statements against patriarchal paradigms and norms regarding the role and position of women. Sher-Gil adeptly reclaims female subjectivity, proposes incisive discourses disrupting gender-centric power dynamics, delves into the inner recesses of the female psyche, and, notably, provides a poignantly realistic depiction of the emotional struggles faced by subaltern Indian women, as illustrated in her notable works such as Hill Women and Self-Portrait as a Tahitian where the motif of paired eyes functions as the conduit to convey these sentiments and statements. Her paintings like Two Women challenge the male gaze on nudity and celebrate female confidence and autonomy, subverting traditional gender expectations. She further challenges societal norms surrounding marriage in her painting Bride, where defiant gazes question prescribed roles for women. Overall, ‘gaze’ stands as a central motif in Sher-Gil’s paintings that serves as a device to expose, question, and challenge the stereotypical male gaze. The current research aims to underscore the way Sher-Gil, through her representation of women incorporating a bold execution of the motif of gaze, provides statements against the oppressive aspects of Indian patriarchy and attempts to defy the repressive male perspective. This study, through a critical virtual culture analysis of the relevant artworks, intends to reveal the gender-based socio-cultural implications embedded in Sher-Gil’s oeuvre primarily using Griselda Pollock’s idea of the power dynamics, gaze, and representation proposed in Vision and Difference and Laura Mulvey’s notion of the male gaze.
Keywords: Gaze, Patriarchy, Male Gaze, Female Subjectivity, Gender stereotypes, Amrita Sher-Gil
