Art: Sculpture & Painting by Kripa Radhakrishan

8 Works

By ​Kripa Radhakrishan

Artist Statement

​I was born and raised in Vasai, India. I observed that the men in my community had a very conservative attitude towards women. In all aspects of life, they refused to support gender equality. As I became an adult, I realized I was not the only one to face this kind of persecution; so many women throughout the world experience harassment and limitations in everyday in life. I connect to the events from my own memories and experiences in India. My artwork is a platform for me to courageously share my struggles with the world and to share the extent of women's hardships.
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My ambition is to serve the community in general by highlighting issues faced by women in particular. I come from an Indian society where the term “feminist” is criticized mainly for focusing too much on women already privileged, and neglecting the needs and representation of poorer or lower caste women. This has led to the creation of caste-specific feminist organizations and movements in India. In contrast, as an Indian artist I am especially invested in sharing my concerns of women without any class discrimination through my artworks. Currently, I am creating a series highlighting issues related to women and people who are transgender. Transgender people have been neglected and marginalized historically and currently.

​I have formal training in Indian Classical Dance that contributes to my sense of a narrative approach of storytelling in my painting, sculpture, and performance art. That training informs my decision making in the positioning of the figures in my works. Using that vocabulary, I narrate the stories I share through figurative drawings, colors, found materials, proverbs, and poems. I make artworks which eliminates caste, religion, and cultural identity in the physical appearances of the figures in my art. The sounds that I generate from my vocal cords, my dramatic body movements with highly emotional facial expressions, and the variety of found materials I incorporate together lend a dramatic ambiance to the pieces. Window screens, textiles, and chains are some of the found materials I incorporate in my paintings, sculptures, and performances. I use acrylic and oil painting on canvas and combine these with textiles and found materials to make the experience of the painting seem more real and meaningful. I seek to evoke an emotion or spark a thought process in the viewer that connects to my theme of women’s oppression and survival. In the future, I would like to collaborate with organizations promoting women's empowerment.

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Read Kripa's description of her sculpture and performance, The Unheard Voice, and her thoughts on women's rights, education in India, and more here.