I Hate My body

Performance (2006-08)

Look here dear fellow,

so what do you see:

breasts, long hair, call a woman

beard, whiskers, call a man

I wear these clothes only for you

Sometimes I am a man, sometimes I am a woman

O lord of the meeting rivers

I make war for you

be your devotees’ bride

but the self that hovers in between

is neither a man nor a woman

A project that started as MFA thesis work, but snowballed into discovering the diverse shades of masculinity and doubt present within me. Softer masculinity, hair, history, blade, shave, shedding, all become part of this performance, which is loosely inspired from the words of the Vietnamese-American theorist and filmmaker Trinh T. Minh Ha - ‘the post-colonial subject is constructively hybrid and unfinished and not tied to the imperialist ideal of unity and completeness.’

Written and performed by Amitesh Grover | Duration: 30 minutes | Language: English, Hindustani, Sanskrit | Produced by Khoj International Association of Artists, Delhi