By Sangeetha Alwar
By Sangeetha Alwar
Shoe Size:UK 5
Shoe Name:Fila Disruptor II
Sangeetha Alwar lives and practices in Bangalore/Mysore. She is a self-taught artist and illustrator by night and a professor of English by day. Her art has been published in Maintenant: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art, Homegrown.in, Vice Magazine, The Citizen, G5A Magazine, Indian Express, Deccan Herald, The Mint Lounge, The News Minute and Huffingtonpost. She works with diverse materials, both traditional and digital, to speak about politics, gender, identity and sexuality. Her recent explorations have been in the field of digital collages dealing with subjects such as body dysmorphia and menstrual health.
This pair of kicks represents a continual rejection of definition. Soft Rebellion is an attempt to break through everything limiting through the imagery of the Venus Flytrap. A flower only by definition, the Venus flytrap does not conventionally fulfil what it means to be a flower. It isn't beautiful or aromatic - you wouldn't wear it on your hair. This is a reflection of an aspiration: to escape definitions and boundaries, and to exist in between them. As a teacher and an artist, I feel like I have always had to strike a balance between the personal and the professional. However, there are strong stereotypes and boundaries attached to both these fields - and I want to transcend them. The idea is fundamental to what I identify with - to be me, free, spirited and gender-fluid while being able to work in a society that does not see eye to eye on all the issues. I see this as a soft rebellion - one that declares my identity but also one that is deeply personal - only open to people close to me.
