Untitled 

Sonaly Gandhi's untitled painting engages with themes of identity, performance, and the male gaze. Born in 1974, the artist creates a tableau of figures that seem caught between worlds of fantasy and reality. The image is anchored by three distinct figures: a cartoonish Harley Quinn, a figure adorned in red and black checks, and a man bathed in blue tones with his hands clasped in prayer. Through this construction, Gandhi subverts the traditional male gaze, and critiques it by placing the male figure in a posture of supplication. The red and black checks, which consume the female figure, might reference the checkered past of female roles in comic book history, as well as the ways in which women are often seen as puzzles to be solved. Ultimately, Gandhi uses these characters to ask questions about identity, representation, and the power dynamics inherent in both art and pop culture.