Voiceless & Brave New World
Voiceless
After graduating with a BFA in Fine Art Photography from Derby University, England in 1987, Kirti produced her first body of photographic work "Voiceless" which exhibited from 1987 to 1990. The work investigates the various roles of South Asian females in their struggle for separate identity from family and the constraints of Indian culture during childhood, adolescence, marriage and motherhood. It examined the expected role of a young Indian girl growing up in the Western world, surrounded by two cultures, with her struggle to conform and search for personal identity. The exhibition toured for three years across England to great critical acclaim, and was embraced by both cultures.
India Abroad Newspaper (1987) "Exploring through photography the expected roles of of Indian and other ethnic minority women in Britain and their struggle for separate identity outside of such roles. The work is an culmination of a “long- held interest not only in my own social environment but also that of other Indian women living in a society that pulls them in different directions”. This body of work was personal and evocative which challenged and questioned peoples' own views and ideas in Britain. “The images aren't intended as a critique of Indian culture and tradition at the at the expense of all things Western, but what needs to be emphasized is that there is nothing wrong with women wanting to shape their own lives.”
British Journal of Photography Magazine (1987) "The photographic images were presented like an altarpiece where the left side showed aspects of the limited and expected role and the right side revealed greater freedom of expression. Some images which were housed in box-like frames lent emphasis to the enclosed feeling, from her own experience, Kirti wanted to convey, this is exceptional work in its rarity (how many Asian Women photgraphers are there in Britain) and it is also courageous work because it faces backlash from Asian community concerned with maintaining its cultural tradition.This work which springs from a deep motivation and emotional investment".
Brave New World
Running in parallel to Voiceless, "Brave New World" explored social restrictions and cultural repression of immigrant women's careers and how this affected their dreams and aspirations for their daughters.
"My life, in retrospect, I feel ...a regret for the waste of my dreams. I followed rules laid before me naive of the world and its schemes. Then I pause and reflect that I still have time, before growing long in the tooth, to help my daughter achieve her desires before the waste of her youth”.
This work explored the missed opportunities of Indian women through various social restrictions in immigrant communities of the time, such as the traditional customs of the expected role of a mother within marriage, the lack of educational opportunities for young girls not allowed to go and study in universities, and also simply the hardship of immigrating to a new land and needing to support your family with income.
