Lesser known Surrealist artists

Surrealism

This project is a part of a college assignment. The topic chosen was Surrealism and we had to select a one part of surrealism and make an installation for the same.

I chose to research on the lesser known- non male surrealist artists. The word "non male" is used because a transgender photographer is also part of my research. This project aimed at understanding the artworks and photographs of these artists and highlight their contribution to the well-known Surrealism movement in the sphere of art.

handmadeart interactive art surrealism Abstract Art breaking norms

A snippet of the research

The Installation

The installation I came up with consisted of a broken cage and various layers inside the cage. Each layer of the cage was inspired by the works of these artists. Once, assembled together, the whole installation is a broken cage that paves way for an abstract, surreal form of a female nude.

This installation symbolises how these artists were way ahead of their time in terms of their thoughts, ideas and expression. They used their work to rebel against the norms they had to conform to at that time and thus, the broken cage symbolises them breaking the stereotypes and gender roles they were supposed to follow as women as well as the broken barriers of gender.

Below one can see how each layer and part of the project is inspired by the works of these artists.

Rough digital mock up of the installation

This abstract female nude is depicted it in a way that it is not objectified but empowered. This installation aims to portray how these artists, belonging to different parts of the world, expressed themselves and broke norms they had to face growing up in a male dominant society.

This aims to break the constant sexualisation and objectification of the female nude that can be seen in numerous works of male surreal artists as well as male artists from other movements throughout history.