Last year, on this exact date, the Cube Gallery in Moira played host to an all-women art exhibit that explored the complexities of being a woman. This year, it’s the men’s turn to shine with the Man Enough art show that opens tomorrow, 4th October, in this very space. Goa is not just an average holiday destination with the standard offerings of beaches and nightlife. There is a whole other world of art and culture in this state which is just as appealing and Goa is slowly beginning to take advantage of it. After the success of SHE: An All-Woman Art Show, the men are now looking to make their mark.
What qualifies as being Man Enough?
Everyone knows what women go through on a daily basis across the world but what about the men? A man is supposed to be strong. He is told that he shouldn’t be emotional or soft. That being macho is something to be proud of. And while it’s all very well to say these things, they aren’t what defines a man entirely. There is is much more to him than these superficial traits. And so, this art exhibit, curated by Sonny Singh of the Cube Gallery, along with Elvina Halli, aims to ask what that definition of being a man is and possibly even answer it.
“The show will witness the convening of a group of diverse male artists who will explore their personal experience of being a man as opposed to conventional masculinity. And these narratives are at times funny, moving and emotional too,” says Elvina Halli.
The artists that will be showing their work are Alok Johri, Francis De Sousa, Julio D’souza, Max Orlitsky, Querozito De Souza, Ramdas Gadekar, Shripad Gurav, and Suhas Shilker. Sonny Singh will also showcase his work along with this talented group of men. They will interpret juxtapose practiced and primordial gender doctrine to distinguish between ‘Man’ and ‘Self’; through different mediums be it paintings, photography, sculpture etc. Each artist comes from a different background, age, region etc, carefully chosen in order to give the viewing public different perspectives.
The idea behind hosting the Man Enough art show
All around the world, women are seen as the fairer but also the weaker sex. They go through all kinds of troubles in various aspects of life. But this is not all that defines them. In the last couple of years, they are making their voices heard and fighting back against all those preconceived notions. Men, on the other hand, are seen as the ones in charge. They are supposed to be manly and possess all the traits that are believed to define men. Again, this is not so and just like the Cube Gallery hosted SHE: An All-Woman Art Show to show how many layers there are to women, an idea came about to hold a similar art show, focusing on the men.
According to Ms. Halli, the idea for this show was born last year when SHE was going on. “A year later it felt appropriate to show the other side. Men also often experience a number of stereotypes along life’s journey but these are often not spoken about,” says Halli. As she says, the definition of being man enough is constantly evolving. “It was different in our grandparent’s time and in our parent’s time and will be different for our children. Thus, this dialogue is always important,” she feels.
(Man Enough, an exhibition of contemporary art opens on October 4, 7 p.m. at The Cube Gallery, Moira)
Read more on the Man Enough art exhibition in the Navhind Times.
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