You Cannot Dance in the Temple...
You Cannot Dance in the Temple...
Released:
Format: Visual
Country: India
Genre: Performance/Visual
You Cannot Dance in the Temple/Of Course You Can Dance in the Temple
On the back of this shirt is the text of Indian Penal Code Section 377, which outlawed sex between men. On the front are excerpts from the 2009 ruling repealing that portion of the law. Besides the obvious symbolism of the more conservative law being in the past, by using the female-identified henna, and when worn by the female artist, the piece also gestures towards the continued invisibility of lesbians and the tenuous position of transgender individuals in cultures and laws. The title refers to the ability to “dance” – to fully inhabit the temple of one’s body – and is also a playful reference to the futility of cultural prohibitions of any kind.
On the back of this shirt is the text of Indian Penal Code Section 377, which outlawed sex between men. On the front are excerpts from the 2009 ruling repealing that portion of the law. Besides the obvious symbolism of the more conservative law being in the past, by using the female-identified henna, and when worn by the female artist, the piece also gestures towards the continued invisibility of lesbians and the tenuous position of transgender individuals in cultures and laws. The title refers to the ability to “dance” – to fully inhabit the temple of one’s body – and is also a playful reference to the futility of cultural prohibitions of any kind.