The colour of people’s skin is not just physical, but has also been politicised from time immemorial. Tatiana De Stempel, a London-based artist, saw opportunity in this to help people appreciate the beauty of their own skin and realise that we all are indeed equal. She talks to us about using art as a mode of activism, and her photography, art and film exhibition titled What Colour Would You Choose.
Tatiana tells us, “The idea came to me when I was in conversation with a Delhi-based friend and Manoj Nair, who is also the curator. We were talking about how everyone has different skin colours and hair — but the same coloured tongue — and we thought that was an interesting idea to explore. That’s why all the pictures have people of different colours showing their tongue to the camera.”
She goes on, “It took me two years to complete this project, during which I also filmed people from the UK and India on the street, talking about their skin and if they’re happy with it. The paintings are also about skin colour, bruises, scars and Botox.”
When asked if she saw a vast difference between how people in England and India perceived the colour of the skin, she responds, “Of course it’s different. People in England want to be tan, while people in India want to use fairness creams. We had a discussion about that in the Kochi exhibition. Also, there is caste in India, which isn’t a problem in the UK. A few artists did a performance on the recent suicide of a Dalit student at the exhibition as well.”
She also feels art as a form activism helps people have more important conversations — “Art opens discussions and helps people introspect. The aim of this exhibition is to tell people to be happy with themselves — and that at the end of the day, we’re all humans.”
Tatiana also has several plans for What Colour… “I want to take this to the US and expand it further. I want to delve further into the subject of scars and wounds as well. I also would love for more Indian artists to participate and share their feelings on the subject.”
(The exhibition will be held from May 27 to 28 at ArtHouz)
