Category: Creations | Varta Trust

This mid-range indoor photograph shows the author of this article Kheya Barai and the curator of the ‘Queer Objects 1.0’ exhibition Rishav Thakur standing on either side of the author’s exhibits ‘Breasts 1’ and ‘Breasts 2’ mounted on a wall in a well-lit corner of the exhibition hall. Rishav is leaning casually slightly against the wall. The first exhibit is vertically rectangular in shape and has a black wooden frame. A white cotton vest worn by a trans man is pasted on to a red background. Two flower-shaped 3D objects resembling human breasts are pinned on the chest area of the vest. The objects have been created from crumpled pink crepe bandages used by two trans masculine individuals as binders. The crepe material is marked with silvery glitter. The second exhibit is a mid-sized circular and flat object, dark brown in colour. The brown colour comes from lush embroidery threads. The exhibit has been created from a vest worn by a trans woman pre-gender transition and a crepe bandage used as a binder by a trans man, also pre-gender transition. Two silvery flower-like objects resembling human breasts have been pinned on the chest area of the vest. Photo credit: Bhaskar Jyoti Rabha

Textured titties

By Kheya Barai

Kheya Barai writes the fourth and last in a series of articles by the artists who participated in the ‘Queer Objects 1.0’ exhibition held in Guwahati in late 2023

This is a mid-range photo that shows the author of the accompanying article performing ‘Chrome’, their live durational performance-installation at the ‘Queer Objects 1.0’ exhibition that took place in Guwahati in late 2023. The author is seated in a brightly lit corner of the exhibition hall. Their face is hidden by a golden ‘mekhela’ garment hanging above them, with only some of their black tresses visible on their right shoulder. The author has pasted ultrasound images of their pelvis and CT scans of their lungs on the garment. They are wearing another golden garment like a wrap-around, with their shoulders and arms bare and their feet also bare, visible from below the wrap. They are holding up a small chrome-plated container in their right hand just a little above their lap. Their left hand rests on their lap. The chair or stool they are seated on is covered with a flowing drape with blue and white floral patterns. To their right, a small round mirror with a patterned wooden frame is placed on the floor, and their footwear is placed just next to the mirror. Also to their right, a curator’s note titled ‘Chrome’ is pasted on the wall, with the name of the author Mwdai. Photo credit: Anubhav Deka

Creations, Insight Aug '25

Objectified

By Mwdai

Mwdai writes the third in a series of articles by the artists who participated in the ‘Queer Objects 1.0’ exhibition held in Guwahati in late 2023

This photograph shows a mid-range shot of the author of the accompanying article seated in a brightly lit corner of the ‘Queer Objects 1.0’ exhibition hall. She is in the process of opening a crocheted tote bag, her own creation, to begin a demonstration of her crocheting art. She smiles as she looks down at the bag, a mobile phone in her left hand. A golden ‘mekhela’ garment hangs above her head, partially draping her head. Interestingly, a set of CT scan images of someone’s lungs are pasted on the garment. Another golden garment covers the author’s lap, with her tote bag placed on it. To her right, a small round mirror with a patterned wooden frame is placed on the floor. The walls around her are painted white in colour. To her right, a curator’s note titled ‘Chrome’ is pasted on the wall, with the name of the artist Mwdai. The author is seated in the same space where Mwdai had earlier presented their durational performance. Photo credit: Bhaskar Rabha

Creations, Insight Jun '25

The oasis

By Hima

Hima writes the second in a series of articles on the experience of the artists who participated in the ‘Queer Objects 1.0’ exhibition held in Guwahati in late 2023

This photograph shows a mid-range shot of a collective display of the five zines made by the author Mekuriiko for the exhibition ‘Queer Objects 1.0’ organized in Guwahati in late 2023. Several copies of each of the zine are placed, somewhat casually, on a low box-like display stand. The display is just next to a blank white wall of the exhibition hall. The covers of the zines read ‘Love is Love’, ‘The Queer Manifesto’, ‘Queer Objects’, ‘Queer Revelations’ and ‘You Will Die, And So Will I’. A sticky note next to the zines urges the viewers to flip through the zines. Photo credit: Mekuriiko

Creations, Insight May '25

Storytelling through zines

By Mekuriiko

Mekuriiko writes for the first in a series of articles on the experience of the artists who participated in ‘Queer Objects 1.0’, a one-of-its-kind exhibition held in Guwahati in late...

This photograph is an indoor shot of an art workshop organized to celebrate 100 monthly issues of ‘Varta’ webzine. Around half a dozen individuals are seated on the floor in a well-lit room. One person is seated on a plastic chair. Everyone is absorbed in drawing, painting, and sketching on sheets of white chart paper. An assortment of poster colours, brushes, and mixing plates are spread out on the floor. A young woman, seated closest to the camera, is painting a huge tree in brown and yellow arching across the chart paper. A small inset at the right hand side bottom corner of the photograph shows a close-up of a mixing plate filled with a riot of water colours. The circular border of the plate itself is filled with multi-coloured polka dots. Photo credits: Rudra Kishore Mandal and Swati Das

Creations, Vartanama Jul '22

Varta’s art workshop was fun and thought-provoking

By Pawan Dhall

Highlights from an art workshop organized to celebrate 100 monthly issues of 'Varta' webzine

Creations, Insight Dec '20

Ephemera, archiving and accessibility

By Subhradeep Chatterjee

Subhradeep Chatterjee on his labour of love, the ‘Ephemeriad Project – Archiving Temporality’

This photograph shows a daytime close shot of one of the Braille graffiti on display near a staircase at the English departmental building at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. The graffiti has been created out of white table tennis balls cut in halves and then screwed onto the wall using cement to form the English Braille letters for the word 'subaltern'. Since this is a close-up shot, the graffiti spans across the photograph. But the wall on which the graffiti has been created is replete with other graffiti as well bits and pieces of which are visible in the photograph. Right below the Braille graffiti, the word ‘azaadi’ has been spray painted in blue on the wall in large-sized capital letters in English. Photo credit: Pawan Dhall

Creations Mar '20

Look, there’s something subaltern about this graffiti!

By Chandrima Mukhopadhyay, Subhradeep Chatterjee, Utsa Ghosh

Jadavpur University students set Braille graffiti example, turn walls into bridges for inclusion

Creations, Insight, Travel Travel Oct '18

Many intimacies, many improvisations

By Marc Ohrem-Leclef

Marc Ohrem-Leclef’s 'Jugaad – Of Intimacy and Love' is a visual arts portrayal of male-to-male intimacy

Creations, Poetry Jul '17

How do you feel?

By Suchetana Sengupta, Siddhartha Sankar

Main photo long description: This first (main) photograph shows a performance of Mandeep Raikhy’s choreographic creation ‘Queen-size’ under way at Sitara Studio in Mumbai. The setting is typical for a ‘Queen-size’ show – Lalit Khatana and Parinay Mehra, the two dancers are performing around a charpoy, which is placed in the centre of the performance space – a studio room or small hall. The audience is also seated around the charpoy in an intimate arrangement that is a complete departure from a proscenium setting. The performers are on the right side of the bed, touching each other intimately as they pass by slowly and gaze into each other’s eyes. The lighting is dim, but the charpoy roping is a bright white, especially compared to the audience figures shrouded in darkness. Lalit Khatana, facing the camera, is to the right; he is tall, somewhat heavy built and hirsute, wearing an orange shirt with sleeves folded up and dark trousers; Parinay Mehra with his back to the camera is a shade shorter, slightly built and is in a grey t-shirt and cream coloured trousers. The photograph is taken from behind a few people in the audience seated on chairs. Photo credit: Kavi Datt.

Clickhappy!, Creations Mar '17

Mandeep Raikhy on the spaces that his choreographic creation Queen-size has occupied across India in resistance against criminalization of queer intimacies. I made Queen-size in order to take it OUT. Out of theatres...

This is a photograph from the ‘Verve’ calendar – it shows a male cyclist smiling and holding aloft above his head a Ridley bicycle with his right hand. He is holding the bicycle at the pedals joint. He is in full cycling gear, with a helmet and arm sleeves, and is wearing an orange tee. We can see only the upper half of his body, chest onwards, almost as if he was airborne. He is in an outdoor location. The photograph is taken early evening, against the sunlight, which is shining through the left wheel and adding to the airborne effect. Photo credit: Souvik Banerjee

Creations, Insight Feb '17

Visual ode to redefining sporting abilities

By Suchandra Ganguly

Suchandra Ganguly on the story behind Verve – Where the Mind is without Fear, a table calendar for 2017 to express solidarity with para-athletes in Bengal What does the word...

Tagged Under: Creations

Textured titties

Objectified

The oasis

Storytelling through zines

Varta’s art workshop was fun and thought-provoking

Ephemera, archiving and accessibility

Look, there’s something subaltern about this graffiti!

Many intimacies, many improvisations

How do you feel?

Coming out on the charpoy

Visual ode to redefining sporting abilities

Queer Friendly Resources

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