The Forbidden Eve, 2021

Riya Varghese

Oil on canvas

Maternal instinct - the seed of creation and nurturing - is a cornerstone of womanhood. This womanhood, as it exists, poses a threat to the very fabric of dogma and patriarchy, causing them to restrict and tame her instincts as hair in plaits.

The mother here wails the loss of her creation, both within and without. Her womb is her pause - the way a sentence exists before a comma, as well as after it - her life does not end with her innocent foetus, but it does give her a sense of inadequacy. The cracked, incomplete pot is a symbol of her girl child who never got a chance to grow, live, and flourish, because she was strangled to death by the barbed wires erected by the worshippers of toxic masculinity."

About the artist:

Riya is on a journey to remold her passion for art into a professional endeavour, aided by a degree in fine arts. She loves to explore various themes and mediums to create intricate pieces inspired by all things humane.

See from other artists

Vanishing Girls is a campaign initiated by ADF India to raise awareness against the practise of sex-selective abortions and to advocate for effective implementation of the Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.
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