SANDEEP JOHAL

BEAST OF BURDEN (solo)
Burrard Arts Foundation Residency | Vancouver, British Columbia | Jan 19 - Mar 20, 2021

In the context of a contemporary milieu which demands maternal perfection while exploiting maternal anxiety, few wish to acknowledge the darkness that is so often motherhood’s closest, most constant companion. Ever on the verge of being swallowed by this darkness, the paradox of modern maternity is that the mother is at once part of a global village and yet village-less, forced to fend for herself—the moment  she  shows signs of “maternal distress,”  we avert our gaze. Unseen while still surrounded and scrutinized, the modern mother bears not just a child but the crushing weight of others’ expectations alongside her own complex, uncomfortable and impermissible feelings.

Text by Natalie Johal + Ada Dragomir | READ FULL ARTIST STATEMENT | BAF INSIDER SERIES | IN CONVERSATION
Photo Credit: Dennis Ha, Carlos Bonmati