Cham-pea-ons of change

A family of five. PICS COURTESY/THE PEA FAMILY STUDIO

You can't miss Princess Pea in a crowd of people and concrete. Her giant anime head teeming with thoughts - a walking-talking exhibit of societal expectations that saddle women at every turn - is a nesting ground for change. While Princess Pea introduces herself as, "Anonymous is a woman", we lounge in the kindness of kinship in her latest range of toys. Here, woman - a not-so-ambiguous sobriquet - surfaces as a life force.

Princess Pea

Daadi, takes after Bilkis Daadi from Shaheen Bagh; Kaali represents fearlessness and the ability to fight years of injustice; and the piece Soul Sisters stands for the formative years that siblings share amid differences, rivalry and acceptance. With the voice of a women's collective drawing closer, the range wraps us in the warmth of a humdrum family. Pea shares, "A family witnesses a woman grow. It shakes and reassures her through girlhood and her adult years, too. I wanted to shine a light on that kind of alliance. A family has enough to hold on to just within itself to rise in the face of adversities. The sculpture shows a unit of five: mom, dad and three daughters. It is also a pithy comment on the pressure of having a male child."

Fall and Rise

Pea is aware that art survives as a luxury in the country, and hopes her creations will reach art lovers who can not only afford such sculptures, but can also take the message forward. Daadi is not a political statement for the creator; she is a reminder from the past who attempts to help others with her knowledge. We see this carved character, as a part of the piece titled Everyday is a Protest. Elaborating on its significance, Pea notes, "When women unite, they are unstoppable. Remember the last two years and the sit-in protests where ordinary women came together to stand their ground. They organically wove tenets of empathy, dialogue, trust and kindness. I wanted to capture that image of vitality."

Kali

Did the resilience of a collective dawn on her with its magnified shadow during the pandemic? Princess Pea nods yes: "The realisation certainly stems from seclusion, but also lives in compassionate strangers." Similarly, proceeds from her sculptures help her collaborate with and support the craftsmen of Etikoppaka, a town in Andhra Pradesh, that is known for making soft wood toys.

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