Drishti: The Forced Gaze

A woman faces us with a calm expression and a pair of red male hands with artificial eyes pressed against her own vision, forcing her to see what he chooses to. 

The red colour represents control which is not forced or chaotic but steady and normalized by cultural associations, rituals or tradition.

She doesn’t fight back against those hands, as if the placement of hand is deliberate and it feel familiar, physically close, almost intimate. This closeness suggests that such control often comes from within familiar relationships—family, partners, or societal expectations that feel personal rather than imposed, almost socially sanctioned. It feels practiced—like an action repeated over time until it becomes unquestioned. The hands are not covering her face entirely; they are specifically altering her vision. This reinforces the idea that the control is not about silencing her existence, but about shaping how she perceives the world.

In the background, The old brick wall suggests structure—something built over time, layer by layer. It feels rigid, unmoving, almost oppressive and the dried vein feel organic, but lifeless—like something that once carried energy but has now hardened and lost its vitality

The painting quietly reveals a harsh truth: Patriarchy shapes how a woman sees the world, often without her even realizing it.