This piece (acrylic on cold press) is an assertion of intimacy between queer and trans people of colour. It embraces various South Asian LGBTQ identities across multiple religions and aims to collapse false divides furthered by the legacy of British colonialism (e.g. Muslim vs Hindu). Despite systems of oppression established to marginalize and/or erase those at various intersections of sexuality, sexual orientation, gender, class, caste, disAbility, religion, language, ethnicity, racialization, or geographical location, many continue to confront oppression by living their/our truths as a form of resistance. This painting celebrates this resistance.
The artist recognizes that people of the South Asian diaspora also use other words to describe realities in collapsing/countering heteronormativity and celebrating queerness.