Akshay Jose.
“Black lives matter beyond our reach, BLM is a human race issue not a political one”
My work is mostly centered on the diverse experiences of being human - through gender, color, caste and class. I strongly feel that the aim of art is to lend a megaphone to the voices of the oppressed, and to strike the general public with images that make them see the world from their perspective.
Being from India, we have our own struggles with racism, closely interlinked to the caste system that defines discrimination here. Late as the hour is, the Black Lives Matter movement has set the ball rolling on parallel issues on the lines of skin color, caste and gender (all of which intersect with each other), and let's hope we keep up the momentum.
'Angry Questions' : society does not look kindly upon any questioning of status quo, much less when it comes from a body that it has been conditioned to hate and fear.
'Choked' : free breath is a privilege not enjoyed by trans women of color, on whose throats the State keeps an eternal hold.