Exploring My Indian Heritage Through Art

My senior year in high school, I was perusing the shelves of the Indian grocery store our family frequents while pondering what my photography artist statement should be. Staring back at me were tubes and boxes featuring fair-skinned, beautified women, all promoting this cream and that face wash for “brightening” or “whitening” one’s complexion. As a young brown girl, this bothered me. Why did society tell millions of brown women and girls to bleach their skin to be pretty? And that’s why I decided to focus on colorism, discrimination within a race based on skin tone, as my artist statement for the year.

Talking to my mother revealed that colorism has a prominent, pervasive vise grip on beauty standards, resulting in society’s disparate preference for fair skin. Many brands, notably Fair & Lovely, are famous for their skin-lightening creams, which have been used by Bollywood celebrities. With my artist statement, I aim to depict the internal struggles that young girls of color have to go through when surrounded by society’s persistent messaging that brown is not beautiful.

Thus, in my portfolio on colorism, I have strived to portray both a criticism and celebration of what growing up as a young Indian girl is like.

Below, you can find my artist statement and portfolio!

This collection of works simultaneously critiques and celebrates my Indian heritage and all the connotations that it carries. The first section of the portfolio concentrates on the issue of colorism, discrimination based on skin tone within and between races. Society inundates young brown girls with preferences for lighter, fairer skin, spurring internal struggles of worth. With childhood Bollywood idols endorsing skin-lightening creams like Fair & Lovely, retaining an authentic sense of self amidst the societal pressure to conform becomes exponentially more difficult for young women of color. I narrate through a series of self-portraits in a variety of mediums these issues of self-worth.

In contrast, the second section of this portfolio captures the beauty of Indian culture, bright with color and intricate architecture depicting centuries of heritage. With images from a variety of temples around Texas and of numerous festivals like Diwali and Holi, I aim to highlight the sense of belonging many Indian-Americans feel when immersed in Indian spaces. Altogether, the juxtaposition of the two sections, analyzing and celebrating my Indian heritage, captures the two-sided experience of young Indian women as they navigate issues of identity in the 21st century.