Shedding the Shame
A new thought begins with a new perspective. Misha Japanwala breaks down the barriers woven with prejudice, refusing to classify everyone through the labels that dismissively categorize their thoughts while proposing to be a whole with everyone’s body.
Whether rejected by society for being queer or for having a body that does not conform to beauty standards, Misha Japanwala emerges in her project, created within the artist community, by breaking through all the walls woven with prejudice.
Who can control what we wear, think, or share our stories? Who can claim ownership of them? Here comes Misha Japanwala, a Pakistani artist, standing up against the political turmoil and oppression within the country, reclaiming the stories of femme, queer, and trans lives in Pakistan through body molds, acting as a manifesto. During her time at Parsons School of Design, Misha Japanwala initiated the project by creating sculptural garments adorned with bronze, copper, and gold metal coatings, touching upon her own body.
Naming this visual rebellion, which tightly embraces resistance and resilience, in Urdu as “beghairat,” meaning “shameless,” she cuts the strings that tie the artist’s hands and feet politically and socially, setting all bodies free. Japanwala aims to breathe new life into all thoughts centered around shamelessness by dismantling them one by one, giving them a completely new meaning.
Misha Japanwala’s project brings together a diverse group of people, spanning across different ages, uniting on common ground to liberate and empower themselves through solidarity. Does a nipple or excess weight render us shameless or subject us to ridicule? Amidst these questions, Misha Japanwala rises above and pays tribute to the clothing molds cast off by artists who use their hands, bodies, and even their nipples to symbolize action, autonomy, and solidarity in the pursuit of a more liberated society in Pakistan.
Shame is an ambiguous concept and highly individual. It can manifest in various forms: personal, societal, or systemic. Misha Japanwala transcends all boundaries of this burden of shame that is placed upon us, and in her first solo exhibition, “Beghairati Ki Nishaani: Traces of Shamelessness,” at the Hannah Traore Gallery in New York City urges us to listen her rebellious voice.