Series – Decoding Patriarchal Codes
Year- 2019
Dimensions- height- 20ft, width speed- 20ft, depth- 10ft
Location- India Habitat Centre(IHC), New Delhi
Curator- Leena Namjoshi
Sponsor- Visual Arts Gallery, IHC
Material- Powder coated MS Sheets and rods and Scrap Metal, (Automobile Junk)
Decoding Patriarchal Codes
Public Art Installation
5th to 20th October, 2019
“Decoding Patriarchal Codes” is an ongoing community driven Art project by Gopal exploring the impacts of Patriarchy in the behavior and current trends opted by the youth in Indian society initiated by Leena Namjoshi as a curator and his collaborative partner.
This Exploratory and dynamic project has been planned as a continuous series with various aspects of patriarchy impacting multiple layers of society and demography from different perspectives, consciously and unconsciously.
Gopal being an activist artist wants to display his thought process in tandem with other voices of community of professionals as a resounding echo to the impacts being caused to public at large. All his past artworks resonate with the theme of ecology, cosmos, and most of all, coexistence. “Decoding Patriarchal Codes” too, is an extension of this very notion.
Installation covering around 20 sq ft space of the site, 10 ft high arched walls as a boundry to the given freedom of choice to the 21st century women. Central dominating visual of a high backed chair with arms and crossed legged metal armature and pointed shoes on a pedestal symbolically depicting the ” Patriarch” surrounded with sculpted feminine forms dressed in western and traditional outfits and accessories also expressing diverse meanings of suppression and domination.
A series of events, performances and conversations that move beyond the issue towards a/many alternate possible solution/s were/are being planned and organized in different colleges and at the venue itself. The young college students for whom this is only a beginning to encode their own notions on patriarchy as they grow up are actively engaged in terms of various outreach programs, workshops, engaging installations and dialogue as a curatorial venture by Leena.
And as one exhibition concludes from his first showing the installation grows from merely a display by Gopal the Artist to expressions and solutions submitted in the course of varied interactive events, which fill up arched walls and social media space of the specially created Digital handles for this project to buzz out loud and clear in public at large.
“ Ja Simran Ja”
2nd in series was at IGNCA as part of a huge 5 days festival to celebrate International Women’s Day. Gopal shows the polarity of attitude educated men and women are expected to with rules set for each of them differently. Stereotypically considered jobs , considered fit for a particular gender when do not adhere to the defined norms and how a society responds to that extreme outcome .
The context specific installation by Gopal narrates a story of a A woman Biker leaving past the gate of so called binding notions on her Royal Enfied bike (Bullet ), having its own very many, masculine interpretation while what she leaves
inside the gate is more unfinished home chores, which were her daily life and identity.
Suggestive of a need for changing narrative In a Patriarchally surcharged world for a better peaceful world. A narrative that pulsates, breathes and brings harmony to this disrupted world-order.
