Konkani Artist Raising Questions On ‘Purity Of Women During Periods’ Using Cow Dung Art

Art knows no boundaries, the kind of references used by artists are unique but not always digestible by the masses. Konkani artist Mayuri Chari has come up with a fairly unique way of raising questions at the societal norms for women when they are on their periods. The Konkani artist at the India Art Fair presented her harmless-looking cow dung art. Which from a distance looks like just another cow dung cake pasted to wall for drying up. A closer look at the same cow dung cake will make you realize that it is stylized in the shape of female genitalia.

The cow dung art raises questions

The rows of vaginas made out of cow dung serve as a protest against the dubious views surrounding menstruation. She challenges the custom of evicting women from their houses during menstruation on the grounds that they are “impure,” despite the fact that using cow dung for household and religious purposes is accepted as “pure,” through her artwork.

“During their period, women are banished to a corner of the house for four days. They can’t touch anything or anyone. They are considered impure. On the other hand, cow dung is used for purification of the home and a cow is worshipped while a human is rejected for being impure,” Chari told PTI.

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Chari’s art hits out at women-related stereotypes

The adage “a woman is not born, she is created” has inspired Chari’s art, which explores gender and body stereotypes.  Chari’s corner also has enormous quilt covers and little outfits with colorful threads sewn in the bodies of women in their natural shapes, reclaiming the Portuguese history of trousseau stitching that her family adopted after colonization. All of this is a celebration of female that is unrestricted by conventional notions of beauty.

“I am celebrating my body. It’s been our mentality in India that only slim women with fair skin are beautiful. I am rejecting that idea. Women with larger bodies are termed fat, but they are also so beautiful. I am celebrating that in my work,” Chari said.

Multi-talented artist

“I am working on women’s issues and body politics. And I use certain statements in my work, I also write poems. I think women are not born, they are created by society. How to get up, how to sit, it’s all decided by society. Women are shaped by this. Rules are imposed on them, you are a woman and this is how you have to live and this is what you have to do,” she said.

The Mumbai-based artist added that women are expected to learn certain traits so their mothers-in law don’t complain. “I was also told ‘your mother-in-law would complain what did your mother teach you’. This is what my mother taught me,” Chair added, pointing towards her embroidered work.