Exploring Cultural and Gender Identity through Symbolism: Hong Kong's "Third-Culture" Artist, Riya Chandiramani
In today's art world, many contemporary artists choose to associate their work with their own identities. Through their artistic expressions, they convey a unique set of characteristics that represent and define their individuality. The concept of identity has been a recurring and extensively discussed topic throughout art history. Artists often reflect upon themselves and explore thought-provoking ideas pertaining to various identities, including but not limited to gender, race, religion, and social and cultural. This process allows them to dig deeper into their inner selves and investigate contemporary culture by examining the intricate relationship between art and identity. Through an understanding of their environment and artistic practices, artists strive to redefine the conventional notions of identity.
Particularly in Hong Kong, the financial and creative hub in East Asia, the diversity and internationalisation of the city have nurtured a globalised and multicultural environment. Additionally, due to the city's colonial history, the culture has retained a distinctive quality of "East meets West." In recent years, a terminology that often appears in many online cultural forums is used to best describe the people living in this unique yet awkward situation where two or various cultures interweave. These individuals were mostly raised in a culture different from their parents' culture or their nationality and have specifically lived in or experienced multiple cultures during their childhood and upbringing. These people are usually called "third-culture kids" or "third-culture individuals." This article explores how "third-culture" Hong Kong-based female artist Riya Chandiramani expresses her mixed-cultural and woman identity in both series “Milkmade” and “(G)love Marriage”, with a specific focus on her idiosyncratic use of symbols in her work, and establishes her vision and criticism of the current patriarchal capitalist society to a greater extent.
Milkmade
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Riya Chandiramani is a young Indian Hong Kong artist who challenges the "intricate web of societal constructs that shape the narratives of women today" through her "third-culture" perspective. She has always found herself entangled between two major Asian cultures, Chinese and Indian. Through her work, she also embraces a sense of resistance, dismantling ingrained societal stigmas firmly rooted in patriarchal and capitalist structures. During an interview with a local Hong Kong online media outlet, Riya told the editor that she felt she "wasn't 'enough' of either to be a Hong Konger or Indian." (F. Kanakka, 2023) However, she soon found resonance with the idea of being a "third-culture kid" and began embracing this identity by creating art that associates with these interrelated cultures. The Southeast Asian art at her home ignited her passion for becoming an artist.
Specifically, in Chandiramani's most renowned series created in 2023, titled "milkmade" [see figure 1] (also known as the “cereal box series”), she has adopted cultural symbols such as Indo-Persian miniatures and Chinese propaganda figures and slogans to explore motifs of gender-centric conventions and cultural identity. Simultaneously, she painted propagandistic and stylistic iconography to imitate the composition of American branded cereal boxes. For instance, Chandiramani has used the symbols of different Indo-Persian female mascots to depict the strength and power of female representation, which is unlikely to be seen in stereotypical and traditional cereal box mascots in Western culture.By simply recreating and reconstructing the mascots' figures from male to female in her work, Chandiramani aimed to revise the societal impression that male mascots are generally more powerful. She also reminds viewers that "mother goddesses'' (one of the female figures from Indo-Persian culture) can both "feed and fight," thereby challenging conventional labels of gender identity.
Figure 1: Riya Chandiramani, “milkmaid” series, 2020-2023, mixed media, size various
Aside from the mascot figures, Chandiramani has referenced and incorporated other significant iconographies from the two cultures in this series, intentionally expressing a strong sense of "third-culture" identity. For instance, in the work "We Ride at Dawn" [see figure 2] from the same series, the artist establishes a clear connection with the stylistic aesthetic of Chinese propaganda art. She specifically paints a red sun on the background, which is a symbolic icon of communist ideology in China. In many traditional Chinese propaganda artworks, the symbol of the red sun is often associated with Chinese politician Mao Zedong [see figure 3], portraying him as "a big red sun rising from the East." Additionally, Chandiramani draws inspiration from Indo-Persian symbols such as skulls, mythological goddesses, and beasts in the same piece. These symbols, deeply influenced by Indian literature, are highly detailed and depicted on a small scale, often intertwined with textual narratives. [see figure 4] Furthermore, the tiles and vibrant patterns in the artwork also serve as notable references to Persian miniature paintings. As a "third-culture" artist, Chandiramani emphasises the connection between her artistic endeavours and her cultural identity, showcasing a fusion that highlights the amalgamation of Western branding, Indian traditions, and Chinese propaganda art. This fusion serves as a representation of her unique background as a Hong Kong-born Indian woman with a global upbringing.
(G)love Marriage
In another recent series, Chandiramani once again explores motifs of womanhood and her cultural identity through the portrayal of gloves in her paintings. “(G)love Marriage" [see figure 5] is her latest series created in 2023 and 2024, in response to the conventional image of how women are stereotypically perceived and valued based on their "marriage-worthiness" and marital status, particularly in Asian countries. Chandiramani believes that contemporary society confines women to specific gender roles, and unfortunately, women are expected to fulfil these societal expectations in order to be considered worthy and validated. She recognizes that under patriarchal capitalism, women's "invaluable contributions to society" are often undervalued. Therefore, in this particular series, Chandiramani deliberately addresses this issue by utilising gloves as a symbol of resistance, aiming to challenge and eliminate the traditional clichéd labels that diminish women's worth.
Figure 5: Riya Chandiramani, Installation View, (G)love Marriage, 2024
The "(G)love Marriage" series consists of resin sculptures, photography prints, paintings, and installations. The central subject matter of the series is a yellow glove. Notably, the painting "MYOB" [see figure 6] depicts a henna-designed yellow rubber glove making a middle finger gesture, evoking a strong confrontational emotion. During a conversation with the gallery director of Young Soy Gallery in Hong Kong, she shared that the primary reason for using yellow rubber gloves as the subject matter is because they serve as symbols of domestic cleaning products and are common household objects. This symbol effectively portrays the gender roles assigned to women in a domestic setting. Through her artwork, the artist aims to provoke critical judgement of existing societal values regarding gender identity and gender roles. The gloves represent the conventional gender role of women in a household, mainly associated with janitorial duties. The gestures of the gloves convey resistance and confrontation towards these stereotypical social stigmas.
Figure 6: Riya Chandiramani, “MYOB” 2024,
Oil, Acrylic & Gold Pigment on Canvas, 30.5 x 61 cm
Additionally, in this painting, the glove is adorned with a henna design. Chandiramani continues to explore her "third-culture" upbringing and identity by incorporating her ethnic culture into her artistic practice. Henna, also known as Mehndi in Hindu culture, is an ancient form of body art originating from South Asia, traditionally used for religious ceremonies and wedding festivals. In certain regions of India, like Assam, henna tattoos also symbolise unmarried women during their New Year celebrations. Due to this cultural significance, henna designs have become a crucial symbol for marriage in Indian culture. The symbolic meaning of the henna design and the glove itself seamlessly intertwine. intrinsically, they illustrate Chandiramani's role as an artist who envisions the strength of femininity and challenges existing constraints through a resistant attitude. Furthermore, the painting's background carries on the stylistic symbolism approach seen in her "milkmade" series. The symbols of the Chinese red sunbeam and the Persian floral pattern on the frame once again portray her mixed cultural identity as a Hong Kong-born Indian artist. The beauty of the "third-culture" emerges from the fusion of these two distinct Asian cultures.
The “Third Culture” Artist
Symbols in art serve as a powerful and effective visual language, enabling artists to communicate their ideas and visions while evoking various emotions. By imbuing objects, gestures, colours, and shapes with cultural interpretations shared by viewers or tapping into universal understandings, symbols allow beholders to form a deeper and more personal connection with the artwork. As a young Indian-Hong Kong artist who grew up in Hong Kong, Riya Chandiramani explores her "third-culture" identity and challenges the stereotypical gender roles and labels that have diminished the innate value of women. Through a mixed cultural perspective, she incorporates cultural elements and symbols from Chinese, Indian, and American contexts into her art. This approach enables Chandiramani to examine and redefine societal norms, presenting her unique perspective on gender and cultural identity.
From her powerful series "milkmade" to her recent thought-provoking "(G)love Marriage," Chandiramani has continuously explored the motifs of feminine art and cultural identity. In her cereal box series, she fearlessly incorporates the composition of popular American cereal box designs, while infusing elements and symbols such as the Chinese propaganda's "red sunbeam" and the intricacy of Indo-Persian figures and miniatures. Through her art, she expresses her multicultural identity as an artist with a "third-culture kid" experience.
In her latest unconventional gloves art, Chandiramani utilises the iconic symbol of domestic yellow rubber gloves to convey her thoughts on the deconstruction of women's gender roles in a patriarchal society. Furthermore, she merges the cultural legacy of henna art, which holds significant symbolism in Indian culture. Chandiramani focuses on the theme of “third-culture” and gender identity in her art practice remains a persistent paradigm, bewitchingly unveiling the stigma prevalent in today’s society. Simultaneously, her work also showcases the beauty of multifariousness within contemporary culture.
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