Vinita Dasgupta. India. Gotipua Dancer. 2013. (Triptych from the Storyteller Series).  Paper, digital imagery, acrylic on canvas.  Size: 12 by 12 inches (framed).

 

Vinita's story. This is the face of a boy dressed like a girl for a Gotipua performance, a traditional dance form from Orissa, danced by pre-puberscent boys dressed as girls.  Girls can’t be Gotipua dancers.  This painting is a juxtaposition between respecting tradition and culture and questioning the limits on girl’s and women’s roles and choices.