Sarbjit Johal
29 August - 11 September
No More Home - Work provides a space to reflect on the experiences of South Asian families in Britain, the forces shaping the South Asian family structure and the struggles facing women and young girls.
This collection is made up of 18 artworks. Some of these are paintings as displayed in this exhibition and the other seven are available to see as prints. Drawing on events such as the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, the attacks in the name of ‘love-jihad’ in Muzzafarnagar, India and the Apna Haq (Our Rights) protest to save their series in London, Sarbjit Johal’s oil paintings draw on photos and experiences of individual and collective struggle.
The paintings question the hierarchies of the family. They highlight how racism and patriarchy shape the structure of the South Asian family to serve the national economy and what it means for women and girls. As well as representing some of the experiences of living as an Asian Woman in Britain, Sarbjit’s paintings raise questions about the way South Asian Communities are seen. They inspire us to dream of new ways of producing and reproducing ourselves.
Sarbjit Johal is a self-taught artist. All the paintings, text and the ideas for this exhibition have been developed and produced with the help and guidance from her family, friends and members of South Asia Solidarity Group and Freedom Without Fear Platform.
Sarbjit Johal was born in Uttar Pradesh, India 1961. As well as being an artist she has been involved in the Burnsall Strikers Support Group between 1992 -1993, and more recently in the Justice for Jennifer Dalquez campaign. She has also campaigned against Human Rights abuses in South Asia.
Find out more about other projects on the Mirrors and Mountains blog.