has moved her bedroom into Surrey Art Gallery.
Well, not exactly her bedroom, but the artistsa国际传媒檚 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 gallerysa国际传媒檚 main space features what Johal calls a sa国际传媒渓oose re-creationsa国际传媒� of her old bedroom in the exhibit sa国际传媒淲hat If?sa国际传媒� her first in Surrey.
sa国际传媒淲hat if her formative influences had been daring, defiant South Asian women?sa国际传媒� an event advisory asks. sa国际传媒淲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 womensa国际传媒檚 stories through art.sa国际传媒�
Artist Sandeep Johalsa国际传媒檚 teen bedroom re-imagined with South Asian role models at Surrey Art Gallery.
sa国际传媒� 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, sa国际传媒淛ohal layers her personal history with those of South Asian women she wished she knew about as a first-generation South Asian youth sa国际传媒� role models, pioneers, trailblazers, vigilantes and rebels,sa国际传媒� all previously featured in Johalsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淗ard Kaursa国际传媒� series of portraits (sa国际传媒淜aursa国际传媒� is a typical middle name assigned to Sikh females at birth, meaning sa国际传媒渓ionesssa国际传媒�).
sa国际传媒淎ll of those women are in the wallpaper behind the bed, but then theysa国际传媒檙e also embodied in different objects and things in this bedroom,sa国际传媒� Johal told Black Press Media.
sa国际传媒淚 was growing up with, you know, sa国际传媒�90210,sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒楳y So-Called Life,sa国际传媒� listening to Madonna and Gwen Stefani, and there was no representation of my culture. So here, Isa国际传媒檓 going back to my teen bedroom and Isa国际传媒檓 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.sa国际传媒�
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PICTURED: Artist Sandeep Johal in her sa国际传媒渂edroomsa国际传媒� 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.
sa国际传媒淭his bedroom is very true to who I was as a teen,sa国际传媒� she revealed. sa国际传媒淚 havensa国际传媒檛 put anything in here that I didnsa国际传媒檛 utilize or enjoy as a teen. And so, on the bulletin board there, those are fake show posters Isa国际传媒檝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 thatsa国际传媒檚 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.sa国际传媒�
A sa国际传媒淗ard Kaursa国际传媒� jean jacket represents Johalsa国际传媒檚 teen passion for clothing modification and the equally prominent sa国际传媒淪picesa国际传媒� tapestry riffs on a sa国际传媒済irl powersa国际传媒� British pop group of the late-1990s.
sa国际传媒淲hen the Spice Girls came out, I was in my early 20s, I think, and I thought, sa国际传媒榃ow, this is so amazing, these women are so cool and so empowered,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� Johal recalled. sa国际传媒淎nd as adult you realize it was all fake empowerment, fake feminism and a completely manufactured band. So I looked at this as, sa国际传媒榃ell, who would my Spice Girls be?sa国际传媒� I chose five of the women from the series to be, you know, my version of the Spice Girls.sa国际传媒�
They are sa国际传媒淏andit Queensa国际传媒� Phoolan Devi, suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh, rebel Laxmi Bai, vigilante group founder Gulabi Gang and labour-protest leader Jayaben Desai.
sa国际传媒淢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?sa国际传媒� Johal said. sa国际传媒淵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. Itsa国际传媒檚 having those role models that show you anything is possible. It may not be easy, but itsa国际传媒檚 possible.sa国际传媒�
A sa国际传媒渢omboysa国际传媒� growing up, Johal didnsa国际传媒檛 wear much makeup and was known as sa国际传媒淗oops,sa国际传媒� for her love of basketball.
sa国际传媒淭hese are real photos, but photocopies of them,sa国际传媒� she said of images affixed to a vanity mirror. sa国际传媒淭his is a photo of me from the sa国际传媒�90s but I cut out my friend and put another woman from sa国际传媒楬ard Kaur,sa国际传媒� Roshni Sharma, who was the first woman to ride a motorbike solo from the top of India to the bottom. People might not think thatsa国际传媒檚 a big deal, but she was a lone woman doing that, and itsa国际传媒檚 quite an accomplishment in terms of safety alone. So that picture is of her and I palling around. I didnsa国际传媒檛 really have many brown friends growing up in a town that wasnsa国际传媒檛 very diverse.sa国际传媒�
Scattered on the bed are teen-girl magazines with cover models now adorned with mehndi.
sa国际传媒淭hese are thin, white blonde women who totally appropriated Indian culture all the time, but I thought they were so cool,sa国际传媒� Johal emphasized. sa国际传媒淎s a teen I didnsa国际传媒檛 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.sa国际传媒�
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PICTURED: Artist Sandeep Johalsa国际传媒檚 depiction of murdered Surrey resident Maple Batalia. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
Also featured in the gallery are Johalsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淩est in Powersa国际传媒� series of drawings of 12 murdered women and sa国际传媒淔or Jyoti,sa国际传媒� an animated film about the 2012 murder of Delhi student Jyoti Singh.
sa国际传媒� RELATED STORY, from 2016:
sa国际传媒淪urrey has a South Asian diaspora community,sa国际传媒� noted Suvi Bains, Surrey Art Gallerysa国际传媒檚 assistant curator. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 important to see our community represented through art exhibits that address difficult subjects and uplift resilient women.sa国际传媒�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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