Shahzia Sikander

Fleshy Weapons, 1997

Acrylic on Linen,

8.5 X 5.5 Feet

I was researching and internalizing the syncretic nature of South Asian history, religions, philosophies, identities.  I wanted to insert the personal into the cultural too.  I was deeply questioning the segregation of India/Pakistan, in terms of how living in each country, we are so separated, unable to travel freely between both, and especially in the pre-internet years, unable to intersect and claim each other's shared histories.   You can see the Durga/Veil, the Hindu/Muslim play, the self rooted (inplace of feet, the interconnected roots) feminine form in red is a personal iconography of the feminine in human nature, its ability to generate fierce inner strength and also a comment on carrying one's roots within.

The young girl-child is multi-meaning, it could be a coming of age, the female carrying the inherent child within, or the female juggling its off-spring, the female mentor for the female child, the feminine links across generations, and so forth.. meanings can be as many..

Shahzia Sikander