Untitled 

Curator: Looking at this intriguing artwork by Sonaly Gandhi, a powerful portrait in acrylic on canvas titled "Untitled," one's first thought isn't exactly what you'd expect, is it? Editor: No, it isn't. Initially, the checkerboard pattern draws my eye – there is an almost unsettling feeling. Like looking at something familiar fractured into a thousand tiny negotiations. Curator: Absolutely. The way Gandhi uses geometric forms to construct the human figure—it’s both fascinating and distancing. I can almost feel her asking us: what happens when the self is deconstructed, commodified into simple geometries? Editor: That's it. Think about how that checkered surface might symbolize being "checked," surveyed, perhaps controlled, especially when we think about historical patterns of objectification, particularly regarding the female body. There’s a dialogue here, a visual exploration of autonomy and control, consent and subjugation. Curator: The earth tones make me feel centered though, grounded even, especially in contrast to the almost harsh grid of the checkered skin, which makes the intimate posture of the figure so captivating. Is this some sense of inner equilibrium threatened by the disorienting experience of being seen by others, like the artist inviting us to be vulnerable, or bearing our own experiences of seeing and feeling “seen”? Editor: Or perhaps Gandhi presents us with the internal experience of navigating the outside gaze. Remember, in philosophical discourse, the act of perception is never neutral; it shapes, influences, often judges. Curator: It's as if Gandhi captures that weight and explores how a single body, how each body, becomes a terrain of conflicting expectations. I mean the grid could even suggest how society organizes itself with these sets of codes… perhaps an artistic form of self-protection and concealment? Editor: Perhaps. The fact that we bring such a broad set of experiences into encountering Gandhi’s “Untitled”, that it resonates on multiple levels of identity, that it remains in conversation with both personal experiences and broader social concepts—I think that's where the work gains its significance. Curator: Exactly. It invites contemplation about selfhood, visibility, societal pressure, doesn't it? And that, in turn, makes for very thought-provoking work, however you decide to square it off! Editor: Indeed. It makes a profound claim on visibility, doesn’t it? It’s a powerful meditation on personhood and objectification—an exploration which truly captures the nuance of living and being.