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Un:bloomed, 2021

Anshuka Mahapatra

Acrylic on canvas


The artwork is a metaphorical image that narrates how life takes form. It draws a parallel between a budding seed in a jar and a growing embryo in a mother’s womb. The lotus flower here symbolises the Girl Child. Due to the social conditioning and negativity associated with  having a daughter, cracks start to develop on these jars. Further, the delusion that this mindset is ethical eventually breaks the jar and withers the budding flower. Since the bud is rooted to the jar, any harm caused affects both. The jars are placed according to the pregnancy timeline and elements like the broken yin-yang locket symbolize the imbalance caused due to this issue. Altogether it is an attempt to question our conscience and thoughts and what we are going to do about it.

About the artist:

Anshuka is a multidisciplinary art practitioner working across mediums like painting, printmaking, and video installation. Her recent practice is rooted in addressing transregional identity affected by the exploding and shifting environment and conveying her unfixed, evolving selfhood.

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