Swinger

In Waswo's digital hand-painted photograph, Swinger, the artist is seen posing in two avatars. In one he is dressed in a suit, while in the other, he is rendered as a woman with flowing dresses and clad in an ocean blue sari. The two versions mirror each other, both seated on swings and seen looking up towards the sky. A questioning of and commentary on gender and sexuality, this painting is a contemporary response that uses Ravi Varma's recognisable and popular imagery – in this case, his famous painting of Mohini on a swing. The work evokes ideas of transgender identities throughout – from its title and from to its subject (Mohini being a female avatar of Vishnu).