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M+, Hong Kong, © Nalini Malani
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Mediatheque
Nalini Malani 納里尼．馬拉尼
Taboo 禁忌
1973
This short film opens with a shot of a veiled woman retreating behind the door of a house in Mumbai. It then cuts to reveal the courtyard of the house, filled with equipment for spinning thread and weaving cloth. The woman, still veiled, spins yarn while a turbaned man works at a loom, meeting the camera’s gaze and confidently manipulating the threads and shuttle. With no narration or sound, the work is reminiscent of anthropological films that document artisan traditions. The title brings notions of access, power, representation, and visibility to the fore, underscoring the visible difference in how the woman and the man encounter the camera.
Taboo is an early film by the pioneering Indian artist Nalini Malani, whose work has often focused on the societal restrictions and political conflicts that affect women. After obtaining a degree in painting in Mumbai, Malani began to incorporate film into her practice. Her participation in the interdisciplinary Vision Exchange Workshop, founded by the painter Akbar Padamsee, was a formative experience. Taboo captures some of Malani’s earliest formal experiments in film. This important work also hints at her interest in women’s domestic lives, which has become a core theme in her oeuvre.
Taboo is an early film by the pioneering Indian artist Nalini Malani, whose work has often focused on the societal restrictions and political conflicts that affect women. After obtaining a degree in painting in Mumbai, Malani began to incorporate film into her practice. Her participation in the interdisciplinary Vision Exchange Workshop, founded by the painter Akbar Padamsee, was a formative experience. Taboo captures some of Malani’s earliest formal experiments in film. This important work also hints at her interest in women’s domestic lives, which has become a core theme in her oeuvre.
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