the gallery that asked if I could "make it look more Indian"

I went to this gallery in a different city last year, showed them my portfolio, old Bangalore houses, chai stalls, morning light in a certain neighbourhood. And the gallerist looks at me and goes, "This is lovely, but can you make it look more Indian?"

I didn't even know what to say. I paint what I see every day. What does "more Indian" even mean? She wanted bright Bollywood colours and lotuses or something, I think.

Anyway I didn't take it further obviously. But it stuck with me, that assumption that your work needs to perform some idea of where you're from, rather than just being honest about what you actually see and paint.

Anyone else ever been asked to "look more" like something? Or the opposite, told you're too X and should tone it down? What's the weirdest feedback a gallerist has given you about your identity or subject matter?

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Tomáš Havel·4w

I've had versions of this conversation for thirty years. Western curator, biennial, looks at my work made from scrap metal and salvaged timber from Czech factories, and says some variation of "interesting, but could you make it more Eastern European?" As if I'd been insufficiently performing myself for them.

Funny thing is, they never say it to the German artist using the same materials. He's just an artist. You're expected to be a representative.

You did the right thing walking away. The work you described sounds honest. That's worth more than what she wanted.

Roman Petrak·4w

That line about the German artist hits. It's not about what you make, it's about what they decide you are before you open your mouth. Same thing happens to me, nobody asks the guy working in bronze about his Ukrainian grandfather. But the minute they see my name, suddenly I'm representing something.

Ananya IyerOP·4w

Right? That's what gets me. The German artist doesn't have to explain or represent or perform anything. He just makes his work. But we walk in and suddenly we're standing in for a whole civilisation.

Where are you based, if you don't mind me asking? It helps to hear someone else has been through this same nonsense.

Ananya IyerOP·4w

"You're expected to be a representative", yes, that's exactly it. The German artist just gets to be an artist. Meanwhile we have to carry the weight of an entire culture on our shoulders, and if we don't perform it the right way, it's not enough.

Your scrap metal and salvaged timber work sounds like it has its own story to tell. Sorry you've been dealing with this for thirty years, that's exhausting. But also good to know I'm not alone in having this particular conversation.

Ramesh Jha·4w

This struck me very much, what you have written. Because I have faced this also, many times.

I paint Mithila art since my childhood, learned from my mother. It is a traditional form, from our district, very old. Peacocks, fish, gods and goddesses, natural colours from leaves and flowers. When people from outside see it, they say "ah, very ethnic, very folk", like it is a souvenir only. But for us, this is how we prayed, how we decorated our homes for wedding and festival. This is not a performance for others.

But the thing is, I paint what I know. Same as you. You paint old Bangalore houses and chai stalls because that is your world. That IS Indian. What more Indian than that, ji? The problem is they want a postcard. Not a person's honest eye.

Sorry for the long reply. But your post made me feel less alone in this.

Ananya IyerOP·4w

Thank you so much for sharing this. Honestly, hearing you describe it, "this is not a performance for others", that hit me. That's exactly it, isn't it? The thing that's just your life and your mother's life and your home, and someone from outside wants to put it in a box and label it "ethnic."

And the irony is, Mithila art has such rigour to it. The geometry, the way the line work is passed down, the discipline. It's not just "folk" as if that means simple. I've seen Mithila paintings that have more compositional intelligence than half the stuff in galleries.

You paint what you know, I paint what I know. And neither of us should have to colour inside someone else's idea of where we belong. Really glad you said this.