Saurganga Dharshandhari.  Nepal.  VEIL.  Etching aquatint on paper.  Size: H17XW13 (framed).

 

Saurganga's story.  “My father inspired me. He was a dancer and he used to take me to performances. He would see the dance and the steps and all I would see were colors and movements.” Her art is her diary – her record and platform to promote political and social change especially as it relates to the role of women and men in society.  While studying in Bangladesh, she was struck by the beauty of finely embroidered scarves made by women, and wondered if women wore them under their burkas. When she tried to imagine women wearing them, she couldn’t picture their faces. To her young mind, the Burka and the scarves became metaphors to her of women’s invisibility and masked talent.