T. Venkanna
I Am Not Your Doll, 2024
Ink on rice paper affixed on canvas
221.6 x 351.8 cm (87.25 x 138.5 inches)
A voluptuous woman reclines on a patterned field, her gaze unwavering, her legs clamped around the head of a spectral, emaciated man who floats in cosmic darkness. His semen arcs...
A voluptuous woman reclines on a patterned field, her gaze unwavering, her legs clamped around the head of a spectral, emaciated man who floats in cosmic darkness. His semen arcs downward, only to be met by a defiant female hand—first open, then clenched—rejecting the gesture. With surreal symbolism and bold eroticism, Venkanna dramatises a reversal of gendered power. The woman reclaims her body and voice, declaring: “Treat me with dignity and respect. I am not your doll.”