Untitled 

Curator: I’m drawn to this "Untitled" painting by Sonaly Gandhi. There is a disquieting erotic tension made almost palpable through its expressionistic handling of the body, a figurative chess game where consent is decidedly opaque. Editor: My first reaction is that it's… unnerving. The harsh reds, the checkerboard pattern covering the figures, the distorted poses—it creates an atmosphere of constraint and controlled chaos. Curator: The figures resonate with an underlying unease concerning power dynamics. I'd posit that this relates to historical interpretations of women's bodies as both spectacle and sites of control. There's an aggressive visualization here. Editor: I see the checkerboard as a profound symbol. Beyond a chess game, it suggests dualities: red and white, light and dark, domination and submission. This duality extends into cultural associations; for example, in some traditions, checkerboards are associated with tricksters or with fate and predetermination. Curator: Absolutely, it’s impossible to disentangle this painting from societal frameworks. I am keen to understand how these representations challenge the concept of agency. Do these figures perform agency or have it thrust upon them? How is this articulated on the canvas? Editor: Notice also that all the figures lack facial distinctiveness. We don't see features. We instead get pattern, form and a very intense color scheme. Perhaps that de-individualization speaks to how power obliterates the personal, turning people into pieces within a predetermined game. Curator: That's an astute observation, considering also the erotic implications in the staging of a chess-like scene and figure distortion. Can the chess game of art serve to interrogate real life power asymmetries, or simply perform them? That question is, for me, at the center of this untitled piece. Editor: Ultimately, what lingers is the sense of mystery. The stark composition using a stark checker pattern generates questions that may haunt us as viewers. This may be why this unsettling vision persists long after one looks away.