Oil paint and camlin texture white on canvas, 3×3 ft
The wall is a painting about the restrictions women face, not only in India but all over the world
These women are looking through a slit in a wall at the outer world and what is happening there.
The women shown in the painting are not a part of what they see. They see men have freedom to do what they want and to follow their heart. Many women still wore Purdah (face covering, also means curtain) at the time of this painting being made , the Purdah is as hard to break through as a wall. Today the Purdah is used less but it is still there, invisibly.
This wall represents culture and tradition and is quite solid and difficult to breakthrough.
It does not matter where in the world, in many places, the cultural and traditional place of females is still to have children and take care of the household, even if they are working outside the home.
In India many women do not even have a choice in whom they will be married to. From childhood,they are prepared for the role of the obedient woman.There are still regular reports of young lovers being killed for their choice of spouse. Just next to my house in Mussoorie a murdered couple was found very recently (2019). Theystill have not been identified until now.
The wall in this painting has been made to look very solid by applying a thick layer of Camlin Texture
white. Camlin texture is a multipurpose resin to provide relief in paintings and collages. The faces looking through the slit are painted in a thin layer of oil paint symbolising a lack of strength or ability to break through the confines.
My mother, who is a tapestry weaver, really liked this painting. She made a beautiful tapestry based on it that is just the same size as the original. It is included here.