Dipali Gupta explores contemporary perceptions of femininity, sexuality and pleasure through her vibrator drawings
For decades, art has been historically male-dominated. It was men who ran art schools, won patrons and were celebrated. Women painters were rarely recognised. And yet, famous paintings with women as their subjects were painted by men. Think Leonardo Da Vinci’s 'Mona Lisa', Johannes Vermeer’s 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', or Pablo Picasso’s collection of work.
Not just in paintings but in cinema and the pornography industry, women and their bodies have become looked upon, objectified for the male gaze. Taking an alternative stride, mother and artist Dipali Gupta challenges this view, opening up conversation about female sexuality and identity, and what it means to be a woman in society today.
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Dipali's multidisciplinary practice incorporates sound, movement, visuals and unconventional tools (sex toys and household implements such as kitchen scrubbers, brushes and sponges) to explore socio-political myths of eroticism, reproduction, domestication and spectatorship. What stands out are the vibrator marks that find themselves centre stage of her work.
"As an artist, I am in love with the mark-making that emanates from this techno-mechanical device. It is visceral, performative, chance-based and very meditative—like the act of sex," Gupta proclaims.
Her installations, performances, drawings and videos have been exhibited across Singapore and Malaysia. Tatler speaks to the artist to find out more about her projects, process and philosophy.