Gender. Sexuality. Race. Social Media. Pop Culture.
“Returning the Gaze” is a vibrant and dynamic cultural commentary on pressing issues of gender ideology and gender inequality in our society. The exhibition features independent and collaborative works by acclaimed Toronto artist Nimisha Bhanot, emerging visual artist and Cultural Studies educator Angela Aujla with Humber Liberal Arts and Science students.
Aujla draws directly from her students’ written work and gender analysis to create multilayered, text-based artwork that showcases student thought on contemporary issues in popular culture. Bhanot is presenting a new series of portraiture that idolizes young social media icons who transgress limitations set by gender, sexuality and race in their activism and artwork. The exhibit also features new collaborative mixed media work by Aujla and Bhanot.
The namesake of the exhibit, ‘the gaze,’ refers to the objectification and disempowerment of a person by classifying and expecting specific behaviours that are appropriate for their classification. As such, the exhibit aims to confront the oppressive gaze through behaviour that affronts the same social code that is enforced upon the various roles represented in this exhibit, including cultural norms, racial tensions and patriarchy.
A teaching resource guide for this exhibition is available for download HERE as well as an indepth lesson plan titled Introduction to Orientalism prepared by Jennifer Marotta, PhD, Professor of Humanities in the Department of Liberal Studies, available for download HERE. These resources cover the key themes of the exhibition content and provide dicussion points and activity suggestions.
This resource guide can be used for both in class learning or to help facilitate an in gallery class session. To schedule a class visit for this exhibition please contact galleries [at] humber.ca.
Media
Angela Aujla (MA) is a visual artist and Cultural Studies educator. In her 15 year tenure as a professor in Humber’s School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, she developed a number of courses that address the intersectionality of race and gender. As an emerging artist, her artwork is reflective of and inspired by the courses she developed and taught at the Humber, her professional development and interactions with students. In much of her work, she seeks to emphasize the resilience and dignity of South Asian women, particularly as it is the women who have traditionally had the difficult task of being the keepers and transmitters of culture, language and tradition, a task made particularly challenging in diasporic contexts. In the words of Sikh poet, Amrita Pritam, there are many stories which “are not written on paper, but are written on the bodies and minds of women.” Angela hopes her artistic style will reflect conceptions of culture, tradition and identity being in constant re-creation and flux, rather than static and timeless. Angela’s work has been part of a number of recent group exhibitions in Ontario and California. Her work is held in private collections domestically and internationally. She was recently profiled by Kaur Magazine in a story, 15 Sikh Women Artists You Should Know. Her work can be viewed at https://www.instagram.com/angela_aujla_art/
Nimisha Bhanot (BFA) is a contemporary Canadian artist whose work critiques the societal role and perception of South Asian women from a bicultural lens. Being Indo-Canadian has influenced the themes in Bhanot’s work as she aims to portray the process of accepting and rejecting associated with building a dichotomous identity. Whether portraying Badass Brides, Bahus (daughter-in- laws) or pinups, Bhanot juxtaposes cultural signifiers against sexually liberated composition to challenge patriarchal expectations of women. The outward gaze of her subjects, along with the titles of each work talk back to these expectations. Her influences include Sarah Maple, Kehinde Wiley and Raja Ravi Varma. Recent online exposure has allowed Bhanot to share her work internationally via the Internet, radio and print with great success. Her work has been profiled on Buzzfeed, BBC Asian Network, Huffington Post, Harper’s Bazaar India and Elle India magazine, among others.
http://www.nimishabhanot.com/nimishabhanotcomcv/
http://www.nimishabhanot.com/pressmedia/
Jennifer Susan Marotta (PhD) is a Canadian Cultural historian and will be facilitating the artists’ talk on the opening night of the exhibition. She will also be instrumental in developing pedagogical materials on decoding visual images. These materials will guide faculty in Liberal Studies, as well as in other schools, in engaging their students with the curricula produced through this exhibit. Her experience in teaching gender studies and racialization, combined with her experience in creative curriculum development make an invaluable contribution to the educational component of this exhibit.
Image Credit: Nimisha Bhanot, Bharti & The Cheeseburger (2016). Photo Courtesy of Gagan Banga.
