Taking existence beyond sex

"MA'AM, I just wanted to know why you chose to paint and display Che Guevara," asked a young college girl immersed in an acrylic painting by transgender activist Kalki Subramaniam, who recently held an art show at Durbar Hall in Kochi.

- LILIYA ROSE

"I took almost a year to paint this," Kalki replied. "And when I was painting it, I didn't know that he was homophobic. It was after I completed painting that my American friends came telling me that Che Guevara was queerphobic. They, too, asked why I was painting him. Maybe, Che was transphobic then; if he had been born today, he would have been much more supportive. So, I will keep him. Back then, maybe he didn't get to meet someone like Kalki or Sheethal Shyam."

Kalki, who is also an artist and the author of the book We Are Not the Others, is nonchalantly clear about her thoughts, ideals and vision. And this was evident at the 'Shattered Silence' exhibition she hosted in Kochi.

Interestingly, three of the gallery walls displayed images generated with the help of AI. One upheld the theme of reservation for transgender people, while another celebrated the beauty of their identity. "At least five different software were used to create each work," said Kalki.

She wouldn't let anyone dismiss art with AI integration as not being real art. "Just because you type a letter, would you say that the computer typed that letter? No. You wrote the letter. Similarly, all the colouring, captions, and emotions in the artworks are mine. My ideas, and they come from here," said Kalki, pointing to her heart.