Street smart Cecilia

With the intention to create a spark or a beginning of the end of the patriarchal mindset, and to reclaim what’s rightfully theirs, artist Indu Antony tells Tanisha Saxena all about her unique experiment with a gender disruptor

Indu Antony

Forget Simon Says. Cecilia says, “I want all the women in my area to feel safe.” And Cecilia who? A gender disruptor!

When Bengaluru-based artist, Indu Antony put together Cecilia’ed — a rendition of the ‘artistic’ and the ‘creative’, she knew it wouldn’t bring an abrupt change in society. However, she did intend to create a spark or a beginning of the end of the patriarchal mindset.

All women know this one alley, or a juncture or a corner that they are scared of. They take a detour due to reasons ranging from lewd behaviour, stalking, molestation and even rape. Thus, the impetus grew out of the artists’ concern for women’s safety in the city.

Dr Indu works in multiple mediums of which photography is a core element. She often works with ideas questioning societal confinement, identity, gender, public access, collective and suppressed memories.

The activist side of her takes her projects onto the streets and also into the various performances. Cecilia’ed, too, developed as a result of her preoccupation with feminist geography. Spaces like bars, bike workshops and men’s salons are heavily gendered and are usually found in each other’s vicinity. The study of feminist geography focuses on these places and how people have segregated these spaces for themselves. A hardware shop, a mechanic shop and a salon stand close to each other, and the whole space becomes very gendered. There are several such spaces that need re-examining.

“I knew that the issues faced were not merely a man vs woman thing. There are many factors that lead to such issues. One that I found was urban planning and how patriarchal this has been. Feminist geography details this further and helps us understand the landscape around us. This talks a lot about access and how public spaces are basic civic rights for people of all genders.” explains the artist.

Cecilia, a flamboyant and eccentric woman, is at the heart of the project. The 76-year-old feisty slum-dweller is a celebrity herself. She has no qualms about living her life on her own terms. A colourful character, Cecilia is witty like Jane Austen, determined just as Roosevelt and bold like Grace Jones. Indu says “I have known Cecilia since 4-5 years. I saw her on a cycle one day and felt an immediate connection. I stopped her and spoke to her a lot. We connected, she invited me home and rest is a solid friendship.” The way she was conducting herself in public spaces, the manner in which she would go about, all nonchalant is what struck the artist. It was in these moments that Indu realised Cecilia could be the icon for the women in the city.

Plug-in celebrity culture

The collaboration led to the street reopening ceremonies in the town. The idea was simple — creating awareness for women’s safety. The way was magnanimous! Cecilia drops by in a fancy car, dressed up splendidly followed by a ribbon-cutting ritual and reopens the streets otherwise devious for women. ‘When a politician or a celebrity appears in a public place, a crowd gathers around. We give out our pamphlets to all the bystanders and talk to all the curious ones, says the artist. Therefore, coupled with the idea of herd mentality, Cecilia transforms into a celebrity. Indu asserts, “the need is to talk about all these issues. This is what Cecilia’ed did...start conversations or even amplify conversations that were started around the idea of safety for women in public spaces.” A helpline number is issued and the people can share their stories to the pre-recorded voice of Cecilia. The concerns are then further taken to NGOs.

Cecilia goes on and on...

‘Do you want more of my thigh masala or should we stop at 50 photos?’ reads one of the quotes of the cat lady. Cecilia’ed expands into a catalogue of work including workshops, open bar meets, reopenings, wall murals, comic strips, Cecilia matchboxes, Cecilia stickers, and portraits of her which they intend to make a book, along with some very interesting quotes from our very own Cecilia.

Effectiveness of art

Every piece of art is an indispensable medium for communication and Cecilia’ed is not an exception. In no time the project became the talk of the town and received Public Art Grant from the Foundation of Indian Contemporary Art (FICA).

As the pandemic shifted the focus indoors, the artist is all gearing up to print the next zine which talks about violence and abuse in the constraints of home.