Obscure IdentitiesAditya VermaMedium: Acrylic on Canvas Year: 2019The artist explores the norms surrounding gender identity and the associated binaries in this work. A resolutely non-conformist painting, this work mirrors the disintegration and dissolution of binaries of all kinds – of man and woman, of male and female, of right and wrong, of acceptable and unacceptable. Since time immemorial, all societies have looked down upon people who embrace their sexualities. The artist is strongly revolted by the need to define an identity on the basis of genitalia. This artwork is an effort to move past all binaries, look beyond disagreements andrecognise the essence of being human – which for now, is obscure at best. It is a striking portrayal of turbulent times – where old notions are disintegrating and new ones are being formed, and the only constant is a state of flux.About the Artist:Aditya Verma is an emerging artist in the current wave of bold, experimental artists. Most of his works are expressions of his own perspective and hence tend more towards embracing the unity beyond binaries, rather than resisting any labels.His work is a parallel to his conscious and subconscious experiences and a personal observation of said experiences.He draws inspiration from his daily life, and as an artist the act of witnessing our surroundings is incomplete if it is not shared in a tangible and universal way, that can be absorbed regardless of cultural and geographical borders. A general absence of specific indigenous objects can be felt while browsing through the oeuvre of his work; whatever is not seen or felt, is absent from his work.Exploration of fluidity has been a recurring feature in his work.