As an Indian woman, I am painfully aware of how my society pressures
women to marry someone who adheres to my culture. My work explores this
societal pressure in detail and the practical need for sensible change.
These cages serve as metaphors to express the mental pressure of being trapped
and pressurized into an arranged marriage by the community, the family, and
ultimately the women themselves, unable to reject cultural expectations and the
consequences of resistance. Visually, the pieces represent the individual’s struggle
to break out of the cultural marriage cage, where the community maintains a
dominant hand in the woman’s life decisions. I aim to prompt debate within my
community and encourage a strong discussion and solidarity among the young
female community in seeking change with the support and protection of the family,
in the hope that the way can be paved within the community for freedom to
supersede tradition in this current generation.
