TheSingh Twins next to Ranbindra's painting 'Oh Come All Ye Re-eds'
Is football a new religion? Can being a female artist be an advantage in some cultures?These are just some of the subjects covered in a brief interview I did withacclaimed local artists The Singh Twins.I chatted with Rabindra and Amrit at the private view of the WalkerArt Gallery's latest exhibition TheRise of Women Artists, where Ranbindra's painting 'Oh Come All Ye Re-eds' is ondisplay. One of the main things I was interested to find out waswhether they ever actually define themselves as 'women artists' or if they didn'tthink about gender at all.

  

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Amrit said; 'I think personally as artists we?ve never thought of ourselves as women,we?ve never defined ourselves as ?British female artists?. I think that the genderissue is not really important, as ultimately I think the art should speak for itselfand the quality of the work. Therefore it doesn?t matter if you?re a man or a woman.

But I think that it is important in the context of if you consider throughout historywhere there has been prejudice towards female artists then obviously that is somethingthat needs to be re-addressed. I think there should be more incentives to supportfemale artists especially since many of them are juggling a million things; familylife and other commitments around the work they are trying to do. And it?s not alwayseasy to take up a career in art alongside that and to commit to all your otherdaily activities. Essentially though, no I don?t think that gender matters. The workshould speak for itself.

Rabindra said; 'From a personal perspective though, in terms of support for women,in the context of our own background and coming from an Indian family, actually we?vehad a lot more support being women than we would have done being men. Because traditionallyit?s the men who are meant to be the breadwinners and go out and get a so-called ?decentjob?. There was less pressure on the women! So I think from our own cultural contextI think it?s been an advantage that we?re women and we?ve had 100% support from ourfamily in pursuing a career as artists.

Youcan listen to or download the full interview with The Singh Twins here and seephotos from the private view on our TheRise of Women Artists Flickr set.



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