Rajkamal Kahlon: Are My Hands Clean?

"Are My Hands Clean?"  features recent paintings by South Asian American artist Rajkamal Kahlon. Through her work, the artist recovers the humanity of anonymous women documented in early 20th century German anthropological and scientific books.

Enlarging and overpainting images from the book pages, Kahlon addresses how trauma and the body are at the center of political violence, “talking back” to the original authors. The hand-colored surfaces animate the figures, and Kahlon adorns her subjects in contemporary fashion, and accessories inspired by radical feminists and armed revolutionaries.

Image: What is Cuba's history but that of Latin America? What is the history of Latin America but the history of Asia, Africa, and Oceania?...
2024, Mixed media on canvas, 48 x 30 7/8 ins. Courtesy of Rajkamal Kahlon and P·P·O·W, New York, © Rajkamal Kahlon, Photo: Ian Edquis