has moved her bedroom into Surrey Art Gallery.
Well, not exactly her bedroom, but the artist鈥檚 re-imagination of her teen-years space in 琉璃神社, where the now-Vancouver-based Johal grew up subconsciously searching for more feminist South Asian role models.
This fall, the gallery鈥檚 main space features what Johal calls a 鈥渓oose re-creation鈥� of her old bedroom in the exhibit 鈥淲hat If?鈥� her first in Surrey.
鈥淲hat if her formative influences had been daring, defiant South Asian women?鈥� an event advisory asks. 鈥淲hy were such figures unseen and unheard of in both private and public spheres? Johal revisits, re-imagines, and reclaims her past by sharing these women鈥檚 stories through art.鈥�
Artist Sandeep Johal鈥檚 teen bedroom re-imagined with South Asian role models at Surrey Art Gallery.
鈥� Tom Zillich (@TomZillich)
She revisits "what my life could have been like had I known about these women," growing up in 琉璃神社.
STORY:
Through textiles, paintings, drawings and animation, 鈥淛ohal layers her personal history with those of South Asian women she wished she knew about as a first-generation South Asian youth 鈥� role models, pioneers, trailblazers, vigilantes and rebels,鈥� all previously featured in Johal鈥檚 鈥淗ard Kaur鈥� series of portraits (鈥淜aur鈥� is a typical middle name assigned to Sikh females at birth, meaning 鈥渓ioness鈥�).
鈥淎ll of those women are in the wallpaper behind the bed, but then they鈥檙e also embodied in different objects and things in this bedroom,鈥� Johal told Black Press Media.
鈥淚 was growing up with, you know, 鈥�90210,鈥� 鈥楳y So-Called Life,鈥� listening to Madonna and Gwen Stefani, and there was no representation of my culture. So here, I鈥檓 going back to my teen bedroom and I鈥檓 revisiting and re-imagining what my life could have been like had I known about these women, and how that could have impacted me in different ways as I grew into an adult.鈥�
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PICTURED: Artist Sandeep Johal in her 鈥渂edroom鈥� at Surrey Art Gallery, in a new exhibit of her works. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
The subject is explored at the gallery during , starting at 2 p.m., amplifying an exhibit on view until mid-December.
鈥淭his bedroom is very true to who I was as a teen,鈥� she revealed. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 put anything in here that I didn鈥檛 utilize or enjoy as a teen. And so, on the bulletin board there, those are fake show posters I鈥檝e made of South Asian female bands, because there was none of that growing up either. It was Red Hot Chill Peppers and Nirvana and Alanis Morissette, you know, so that鈥檚 just a re-imagination. Those are real venues in 琉璃神社, and the dates are all significant to me, done in the spirit of DIY posters.鈥�
A 鈥淗ard Kaur鈥� jean jacket represents Johal鈥檚 teen passion for clothing modification and the equally prominent 鈥淪pice鈥� tapestry riffs on a 鈥済irl power鈥� British pop group of the late-1990s.
鈥淲hen the Spice Girls came out, I was in my early 20s, I think, and I thought, 鈥榃ow, this is so amazing, these women are so cool and so empowered,鈥欌�� Johal recalled. 鈥淎nd as adult you realize it was all fake empowerment, fake feminism and a completely manufactured band. So I looked at this as, 鈥榃ell, who would my Spice Girls be?鈥� I chose five of the women from the series to be, you know, my version of the Spice Girls.鈥�
They are 鈥淏andit Queen鈥� Phoolan Devi, suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh, rebel Laxmi Bai, vigilante group founder Gulabi Gang and labour-protest leader Jayaben Desai.
鈥淢y real question with all of this is, how do women endure such oppressive conditions and have the resilience and perseverance to just keep going?鈥� Johal said. 鈥淵ou know, how are some people so resilient while others are not, and what creates that resilience? All of these women have that resilience, which I think is incredible. It鈥檚 having those role models that show you anything is possible. It may not be easy, but it鈥檚 possible.鈥�
A 鈥渢omboy鈥� growing up, Johal didn鈥檛 wear much makeup and was known as 鈥淗oops,鈥� for her love of basketball.
鈥淭hese are real photos, but photocopies of them,鈥� she said of images affixed to a vanity mirror. 鈥淭his is a photo of me from the 鈥�90s but I cut out my friend and put another woman from 鈥楬ard Kaur,鈥� Roshni Sharma, who was the first woman to ride a motorbike solo from the top of India to the bottom. People might not think that鈥檚 a big deal, but she was a lone woman doing that, and it鈥檚 quite an accomplishment in terms of safety alone. So that picture is of her and I palling around. I didn鈥檛 really have many brown friends growing up in a town that wasn鈥檛 very diverse.鈥�
Scattered on the bed are teen-girl magazines with cover models now adorned with mehndi.
鈥淭hese are thin, white blonde women who totally appropriated Indian culture all the time, but I thought they were so cool,鈥� Johal emphasized. 鈥淎s a teen I didn鈥檛 see myself represented in any of this pop culture. So I kind of Indian-ified the magazine covers in this way, kind of daydreaming of a time when someone like me could be on a cover like that.鈥�
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PICTURED: Artist Sandeep Johal鈥檚 depiction of murdered Surrey resident Maple Batalia. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
Also featured in the gallery are Johal鈥檚 鈥淩est in Power鈥� series of drawings of 12 murdered women and 鈥淔or Jyoti,鈥� an animated film about the 2012 murder of Delhi student Jyoti Singh.
鈥� RELATED STORY, from 2016:
鈥淪urrey has a South Asian diaspora community,鈥� noted Suvi Bains, Surrey Art Gallery鈥檚 assistant curator. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to see our community represented through art exhibits that address difficult subjects and uplift resilient women.鈥�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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