Growing up in a community dominated by Hindus and Muslims can make you feel a bit blue when you’re an Indian American Jew.
Siona Benjamin,56, puts her feelings on display in an upcoming art exhibition Blue Like Me at the William Roland Gallery of Fine Art in Thousand Oaks near Los Angeles.
“Being blue is a symbol of being other. It is also the color of sky and the ocean, so it can belong anywhere and nowhere at the same time,” said Benjamin to India West. “I was not Indian enough in India, and not Jewish enough for European Jews,” the New York-based artist explains.
According to the Rolland Gallery, Benjamin was raised Jewish in India while being educated in Catholic and Zoroastrian schools. She moved to the United States for graduate school and received her masters in painting and theater set design. It is that diverse upbringing that is reflected in her work, melding numerous artistic styles just like her diverse background.
“Very often I look down at my skin and it has turned blue. It tends to do that when I face certain situations of people stereotyping and categorizing other people who are unlike themselves. I have therefore over the years developed many blue-skinned characters in my paintings. This blue self portrait of sorts takes on many roles and forms, through which I theatrically explore ancient and contemporary dilemmas,” she said.
Blue Like Me runs February 15 – April 12.
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