has moved her bedroom into Surrey Art Gallery.
Well, not exactly her bedroom, but the artist乌鸦传媒檚 re-imagination of her teen-years space in Kelowna, where the now-Vancouver-based Johal grew up subconsciously searching for more feminist South Asian role models.
This fall, the gallery乌鸦传媒檚 main space features what Johal calls a 乌鸦传媒渓oose re-creation乌鸦传媒� of her old bedroom in the exhibit 乌鸦传媒淲hat If?乌鸦传媒� her first in Surrey.
乌鸦传媒淲hat if her formative influences had been daring, defiant South Asian women?乌鸦传媒� an event advisory asks. 乌鸦传媒淲hy were such figures unseen and unheard of in both private and public spheres? Johal revisits, re-imagines, and reclaims her past by sharing these women乌鸦传媒檚 stories through art.乌鸦传媒�
Artist Sandeep Johal乌鸦传媒檚 teen bedroom re-imagined with South Asian role models at Surrey Art Gallery.
乌鸦传媒� Tom Zillich (@TomZillich)
She revisits "what my life could have been like had I known about these women," growing up in Kelowna.
STORY:
Through textiles, paintings, drawings and animation, 乌鸦传媒淛ohal layers her personal history with those of South Asian women she wished she knew about as a first-generation South Asian youth 乌鸦传媒� role models, pioneers, trailblazers, vigilantes and rebels,乌鸦传媒� all previously featured in Johal乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒淗ard Kaur乌鸦传媒� series of portraits (乌鸦传媒淜aur乌鸦传媒� is a typical middle name assigned to Sikh females at birth, meaning 乌鸦传媒渓ioness乌鸦传媒�).
乌鸦传媒淎ll of those women are in the wallpaper behind the bed, but then they乌鸦传媒檙e also embodied in different objects and things in this bedroom,乌鸦传媒� Johal told Black Press Media.
乌鸦传媒淚 was growing up with, you know, 乌鸦传媒�90210,乌鸦传媒� 乌鸦传媒楳y So-Called Life,乌鸦传媒� listening to Madonna and Gwen Stefani, and there was no representation of my culture. So here, I乌鸦传媒檓 going back to my teen bedroom and I乌鸦传媒檓 revisiting and re-imagining what my life could have been like had I known about these women, and how that could have impacted me in different ways as I grew into an adult.乌鸦传媒�
(Story continues below photo)
PICTURED: Artist Sandeep Johal in her 乌鸦传媒渂edroom乌鸦传媒� at Surrey Art Gallery, in a new exhibit of her works. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
The subject is explored at the gallery during , starting at 2 p.m., amplifying an exhibit on view until mid-December.
乌鸦传媒淭his bedroom is very true to who I was as a teen,乌鸦传媒� she revealed. 乌鸦传媒淚 haven乌鸦传媒檛 put anything in here that I didn乌鸦传媒檛 utilize or enjoy as a teen. And so, on the bulletin board there, those are fake show posters I乌鸦传媒檝e made of South Asian female bands, because there was none of that growing up either. It was Red Hot Chill Peppers and Nirvana and Alanis Morissette, you know, so that乌鸦传媒檚 just a re-imagination. Those are real venues in Kelowna, and the dates are all significant to me, done in the spirit of DIY posters.乌鸦传媒�
A 乌鸦传媒淗ard Kaur乌鸦传媒� jean jacket represents Johal乌鸦传媒檚 teen passion for clothing modification and the equally prominent 乌鸦传媒淪pice乌鸦传媒� tapestry riffs on a 乌鸦传媒済irl power乌鸦传媒� British pop group of the late-1990s.
乌鸦传媒淲hen the Spice Girls came out, I was in my early 20s, I think, and I thought, 乌鸦传媒榃ow, this is so amazing, these women are so cool and so empowered,乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕 Johal recalled. 乌鸦传媒淎nd as adult you realize it was all fake empowerment, fake feminism and a completely manufactured band. So I looked at this as, 乌鸦传媒榃ell, who would my Spice Girls be?乌鸦传媒� I chose five of the women from the series to be, you know, my version of the Spice Girls.乌鸦传媒�
They are 乌鸦传媒淏andit Queen乌鸦传媒� Phoolan Devi, suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh, rebel Laxmi Bai, vigilante group founder Gulabi Gang and labour-protest leader Jayaben Desai.
乌鸦传媒淢y real question with all of this is, how do women endure such oppressive conditions and have the resilience and perseverance to just keep going?乌鸦传媒� Johal said. 乌鸦传媒淵ou know, how are some people so resilient while others are not, and what creates that resilience? All of these women have that resilience, which I think is incredible. It乌鸦传媒檚 having those role models that show you anything is possible. It may not be easy, but it乌鸦传媒檚 possible.乌鸦传媒�
A 乌鸦传媒渢omboy乌鸦传媒� growing up, Johal didn乌鸦传媒檛 wear much makeup and was known as 乌鸦传媒淗oops,乌鸦传媒� for her love of basketball.
乌鸦传媒淭hese are real photos, but photocopies of them,乌鸦传媒� she said of images affixed to a vanity mirror. 乌鸦传媒淭his is a photo of me from the 乌鸦传媒�90s but I cut out my friend and put another woman from 乌鸦传媒楬ard Kaur,乌鸦传媒� Roshni Sharma, who was the first woman to ride a motorbike solo from the top of India to the bottom. People might not think that乌鸦传媒檚 a big deal, but she was a lone woman doing that, and it乌鸦传媒檚 quite an accomplishment in terms of safety alone. So that picture is of her and I palling around. I didn乌鸦传媒檛 really have many brown friends growing up in a town that wasn乌鸦传媒檛 very diverse.乌鸦传媒�
Scattered on the bed are teen-girl magazines with cover models now adorned with mehndi.
乌鸦传媒淭hese are thin, white blonde women who totally appropriated Indian culture all the time, but I thought they were so cool,乌鸦传媒� Johal emphasized. 乌鸦传媒淎s a teen I didn乌鸦传媒檛 see myself represented in any of this pop culture. So I kind of Indian-ified the magazine covers in this way, kind of daydreaming of a time when someone like me could be on a cover like that.乌鸦传媒�
(Story continues below photo)
PICTURED: Artist Sandeep Johal乌鸦传媒檚 depiction of murdered Surrey resident Maple Batalia. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
Also featured in the gallery are Johal乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒淩est in Power乌鸦传媒� series of drawings of 12 murdered women and 乌鸦传媒淔or Jyoti,乌鸦传媒� an animated film about the 2012 murder of Delhi student Jyoti Singh.
乌鸦传媒� RELATED STORY, from 2016:
乌鸦传媒淪urrey has a South Asian diaspora community,乌鸦传媒� noted Suvi Bains, Surrey Art Gallery乌鸦传媒檚 assistant curator. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 important to see our community represented through art exhibits that address difficult subjects and uplift resilient women.乌鸦传媒�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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