Karmakar seduces the viewer in this self portrait
A SEXY woman in a black dress and tights looks straight into your eyes, her red lips and nails adding to the sensuousness. At first glance, it s impossible to tell that the woman in the painting is actually a man. And that is exactly what artist Abir Kar-makar hopes to do with his first solo show From My Photo Album, opening on October S at the Museum Art Gallery blur boundaries and question perceived notions of the masculine and feminine.
*I have created a virtual reality, a parallel world to explore my "other' self. While it's casv to tell the differ. ence between male and female, we all have masculine and feminine qualities," the Baroda-based artist says. Kar-makar's exhibition coincides with Met-Fest, a 10-day festival of art, music, theatre and film, which deals with the changing face of masculinity in Indian cities."Karmakar's work has a strong resonance in this festival although we're more concerned with exploring metrosexuality in cities that have rendered traditional views on masculinity redun-dant." says organiser Hi-manshu Verma.