Jaya Ganguly’s jihad against a misogynistic world has become the central emphasis of her art. “I often seek breakages and destruction which provide me with lasting insight and realisation,” explains Jaya. “My reactions are intuitive, and so is my art. Once I begin (on an artwork) I am completely subsumed by it, and rarely do I rest till I resolve my imminent creative challenges.”

For Jaya, art is a spontaneous and intense process; utterly immersive and passionate. “I live for and in it,” says Jaya, as her eyes moisten.

For a single woman growing up in a conservative world, Jaya’s journey was not easy. While her world at large was averse to a woman practicing art, her lone support came from her mother. “I was a wayward child,” Jaya recalls, “and the only thing that drew me was art. I had no option but to practise art; it proved my sole redemption and saviour.”

“Your most insightful moment?” I ask.

“Well, an intense realisation emanating from two years of sustained loneliness as a single woman during the Covid phase. The insecurities and imponderables of life felt acutely painful. I have never felt so helpless and vulnerable!” she replies. “On the flip side, it provided me with deep insight into human behaviour and frailties.”

Disruption did indeed provide Jaya with a vital insight into her life and times. The painting ‘Untitled’ of 2020, results as a spontaneous outcome of that painful yet profound realisation.

“During the early years of my practice, there was a strong, three-dimensional aspect to my forms. I was drawn to ceramics and sculpting as a result. But all doors were closed. I was denied kiln facilities, and desisted from sculpting. The common refrain was, ‘Why does a painter need to tread on the domain of a sculptor?’ I was compelled to back off.”

Jaya started her art studies at the Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship, Kolkata. Financially, she had to struggle intensely. She was allowed to continue her studies on the understanding that she would pay her fees in the final year. Most of her drawings, sketches and paintings were done with one single colour, black. “That’s all I could afford,” Jaya laughs. But one needs only imagination and skill to excel, and those Jaya had in abundance. She worked hard, and with utter conviction and devotion. The shattered and grotesque face of society gradually took over the varying surfaces she used for her art.

Having faced discrimination as a woman, both within society and at home, Jaya became the lone voice of the oppressed, vulnerable and revolting woman. Her art captured the desperate anguish of a lonely woman often taken advantage of and bruised by a misogynistic world. Her works show a profound underpinning of pathos, while being deeply subversive and daring. Jaya’s women challenge and question. They inspire awe and conviction on their own irrefutable terms.