‘I wandered lonely as a cloud…’, thus muses the poet in a pensive mood about his experience with the daffodils. Can a cloud be lonely and wander? Yes, W. Wordsworth would think so. The surreal element in the poem cannot be missed. Clouds have been a great source of amusement and curiosity to me. Their freedom and fluidity, their diversity of form and color, all these are a source of contemplation and enjoyment. This recent work of mine carries an image of a cloud within the four boxes of a window. Windows, doors and masks have been motifs in my paintings. This painting is inspired by the works of Judith Butler, who speaks about gender as performative. Though her works can be quite controversial, in the backdrop of the public discourses on gender equality and the sharing of power and opportunities for all, the ideas of Judith Butler would serve as insights into certain aspects of society and its functioning. The masks in the painting points to performative aspect of gender that Butler speaks about. There is a pressure from the society in which one lives to conform to the identities that are socially constructed. People are hooked up into permanent performance, at work, at rest and at home. “For Butler, to say that gender is performative is a little different, because for something to be performative means it produces a series of effects. We act and walk and speak and talk in ways that consolidate an impression of being a man or woman. For Butler, everything we do, from getting dressed, to going to work, to brushing our teeth, is all part of the performative process of constructing our gender identity.” (Judith Butler in Undoing Gender, 2004). The problem arises when one gender acts superior to others and appropriate power and authority it wants and pressurise the others to adhere to and submit to. As long as this is not challenged, the abuse of power and entitlement of certain gender will continue to plague the society. The realization of this will eventually allow people to drop their masks (Performance) and then could take their rightful space in the society. The painting tries to open a window or insight into gender as fluid and ever evolving, like a cloud. ∎
