(mermaid with blouse in Jakarta)
It did make to international news though this part of the
world neglected it completely. Had it been in the West perhaps the news would
have rocked the art world exactly the way the shredding painting by Banksy had
done it in the Sotheby’s auction hall. But it happened in a small eastern
capital called Jakarta in Indonesia, a relatively Muslim majority country. In
an entertainment park called Ancon Dreamland a woman artist whose name has not
yet been featured in the news was commissioned to do two mermaid sculptures as
a part of beautification. Today the sculptures sport two golden blouses around their
breasts, a move carefully done by the park authorities in order to keep the ‘eastern
family values’ and they insist that they have not been pressurized by any
religious moral policing groups. It has been reported that initially the cover
up of the breasts was done with a coat of paint and later with a pair of golden
tube tops. Now, to the dismay of many the sculptures are moved to some
unspecified location for further sprucing up.
(another mermaid bloused in Jakarta)
One does not need special mental abilities to understand it
as a part of self/internal censorship by the park authorities. The very denial by
the authorities of the external involvement proves that there is one if not
many. It should be nothing but an ‘eastern’ sign of how Indonesia too going the
‘right’ way. World over the right wing forces have been prowling the streets to
identify the morally incorrect art but only thanks to the predominant museum
cultures of the West prevent them from making unwarranted entries into the
premises. Besides, the museums are patronized by huge corporates whose lobbying
powers with the existing governments are more than an ordinary citizen could
imagine. Hence, even if the right wingers try their best to make dent on the
museum culture in the west they will be disappointed. With a strong museum
culture adding a lot to the tourism economy of many states no political outfit
that seeks public approval would venture into moral policing. But that is not
the case with the South Eastern countries.
(Yakshi by Kanai Kunchiraman)
Sitting on the powder keg of the right wing politics or
right wing inclination of the influential political parties the south east
Asian countries could soon turn into self-censorship as a part of their
appeasing policy towards the conservative political climate. The fear factor
that the right wing could destabilize the political equations and the growing
anxiety among the public regarding their conflicting moral norms with the ongoing
debates on socio-sexual mores could in a way make the public silent over such
moves. Despite such silence and lack of interventions, there are people from
odd corners of the world commenting and lampooning the authorities over such
moves. Talibanization of Afghanistan was one such move in the recent history
that we saw spilling over to the post war Iraq when they were destroying the
museums and artefacts. Religious fundamentalism, when mixed with Nazi and
Fascist tendencies could prove the most dangerous Molotov in a socio-political
and cultural climate.
India has been showing such tendencies for quite some time.
Though it was not driven by organized right wing parties half a century back,
the right wing feelings and tendencies were instrumental in making such
ridiculous moves towards art and culture. Similar cladding of the breasts was
attempted on the illustrious ‘Yakshi’ sculpture by Kanai Kunchiraman at the
Malampuzha Dam site in 1969. The right
wing youngsters from the area demanded an appropriate dress for the otherwise
fully naked Yakshi whose body is provocatively opened to the audience/public. A
very clever official who headed the contract of the site pacified the right
wing youths saying that a mill at Coimbatore had been approached for a specially
made sari for this thirty feet sculpture and it was awaited anytime. Whether
they believed it or they were amused by the poetics of such a clever move, they
called off their agitation. Today, Yakshi still sits naked exposing her ‘sex’
to the visiting public. So far no concerted efforts have been made to clad this
sculpture by the strong right wing parties in Kerala. But the brittle
acceptance could break at any time if political moves in India take a ‘real’
right turn.
(Navjot Altaf's sculpture given a sari by the Bastar Panchayat. Also you could see JohnyML)
M.F.Husain and the nudity portrayed by him on the Hindu
Goddesses are now folk tales of the leftists and secularists. With Husain
leaving first the country next this world itself, the right wingers seem to
have buried their differences with him provided his works are no longer
exhibited or openly sold in India. Husain for the Hindutva forces is like beef,
it seems. Beef is banned in India, more or less. But in Beef Export India
stands second in the world with 18% world share. The first place is for Brazil
and the difference is only one percent. In Beef Export India has pushed both
Australia and United States, two beef producing and eating countries to third
and fourth positions respectively. Husain’s stock in the art market has not
come down even if he is ‘hated’ by many Hindutva leaning market leaders
including the Ambanis, whose art collection stands unparalleled in India. How
does it happen, nobody knows. Perhaps, in the right wing regimes what is more
hated is more circulated surreptitiously and dearly. Where sexual morality is
in its stringent forms, you would have a grey market or a black market with
thriving porn business.
India’s hypocrisy in terms of sexual morality is still
growing. There have been efforts to clad sculptures, remove paintings from the
exhibitions and even apply self-censorship by the organizers. Anybody claiming
to have allegiance with the dominant right wing outfits could walk into a
gallery and remove paintings and sculptures citing nudity or sexual morality as
a reason. Nobody could stop them. They could stop films from making, demanding
changes in the script, stop screening of movies, asking for changing of the
titles. Non-obliging artists could be manhandled by them. Once in Bastar, Chattisgargh,
Navjot Altaf made fifteen feet standing nude woman sculpture which was soon
given a painted sari by the Panchayat for the state was then ruled by the right
wing outfit. The threat is still growing. Artists have been very cautious in
making visual statements. Like we have seen in history during the Fascist
regimes, artists in India too have gone either silent or tactful. They have
stopped openly criticizing the ruling despotic regime. Many have crossed over
to the dominant camp showing willingness to paint of and for the rulers.
In India there are so many sculptures in the public domain
that have pronounced nudity. They have been there and were not disturbing the
public morality at all. Even the oft quoted temple sculptures in various parts
of India were basking under the sun wearing only sky and air for clothes. Soon
they are all under surveillance. When political morality becomes vicious they
compensate it with sexual morality. The more a society gets its upper echelons
corrupt the more it tightens its grip on sexuality. Corrupt power employs
sexual morality to whitewash its decaying facades. If we, as a society elect
the right wing forces to rule us once again the possibility of our public and
private works of art wearing under and upper garments cannot be ruled out. Even
an electric post or tree trunk with a remote semblance of a female body part
would be covered by force and definitely by order. What happened in Jakarta is
not an alien thing. The process has been on in India for long and more
pronounced during the last five years. Let us learn from the signals and uproot
the cause than treating the symptoms misreading them for the disease.
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