Hindu Goddesses Mix With Mortal Art and Activism

WOMENS E-NEWS
By Reshmi Kaur Oberoi

A wounded goddess Lakshmi from the Abused Goddesses campaign.

INDIA---The subject of who can tap Hindu goddess imagery and for what reasons has been stirring rising discussion, particularly in India, where some female artists are invoking goddess power in a year of notoriously brutal gang rapes. In India, taking such artistic license can stir controversy over crossing a religious line. When the Indian ad agency Taproot released an "Abused Goddesses" campaign in India in September, Jasmine Wahi, an American artist of Indian descent, had a two-part reaction. First she liked it; then she didn't. [link]

In two recent gallery shows in New York female artists of Indian heritage emphasized the universal appeal and power of female Hindu deities.

• Jasmine Wahi's exhibit: "The Least Unorthodox Goddess," at Gallery 151 in Manhattan from July 18 through Sept. 22, featured white walls dotted with contemporary paintings, word-art and a solid white box with a hole, that if looked into, revealed an old-fashioned Hindi film actress, mid-song, with a cathedral in the backdrop. 
• Manjari Sharma's exhibit: "Darshan," at the ClampArt gallery, showcased a very different atmosphere in her Sept. 12 to Oct. 12 show to describe a connection between a deity and a mortal. Vedic verses, texts extracted from Hindu holy scriptures, permeated the air and were punctuated by the anecdotal crackling of oil lamps.