| dc.description.abstract | In this work I investigate the new aesthetic form that has been emerging in India, post-Nirbhaya case. This aesthetic is centered on representations of acid-attack survivors. Using disability studies as the framework for this research, I described how acid disfigurement should be considered a form of disability given the physical, psychological, and social consequences of this form of crime. In order to seek social justice, survivors not only explore the visibility of their scars through artistic and digital platforms, but also form coalitions with non-disfigured artists through solidarity. These coalitions are possible because of the creation of an aesthetic community specific to acid disfigurement. It is this community that is responsible for the creation of a new aesthetic form – the Acid Aesthetic. The multiple individuals engaged in pursuing the acid aesthetic explore its common characteristics differently, thus generating what I categorize as disfigurative, conflative, and refigurative acid aesthetic. I consider disfigurative those representations of acid-attack survivors that, although seeking social justice and inclusion, tend to engage the audience through pity, emphasizing images conducive to suffering and despair. In addition, the disfigurative art often perpetuates gender stereotypes and patriarchal structures. The conflative acid aesthetic, on the other hand, gives more depth to the representation of survivors’ emotions and inner conflicts. However, it does so by means of conflation of acid attacks with other gender-based forms of violence. This conflation is presented as female solidarity. However, in this depiction of solidarity among women, acid-attack survivors become either proxy for a generic discussion on genderbased violence or perform a secondary role. The third category - the refigurative – is exemplified by representations that seek to portray acid-attack survivors as empowered agents, but also as ordinary individuals. In these representations, survivors are not depicted stereotypically. Because artists and survivors challenge stereotypes, viewers and readers are also required to challenge their own biases and assumptions regarding disfigured women. | en |
