PHOTOS: Artist re-imagines Indian aunties as superheroes

Which 'Indian superhero aunty' would you want to save your life?

A UK-based artist is the new online star on the block, for her rather unique and quirky take on Indian women, particularly, the aunties!
Kulwinder Rehal, a 'wickedly' good artist of Indian-origin, recently named one of '16 South Asian Artists Who Are Smashing Western Beauty Stereotypes', posted a series of cartoons on her Instagram - depicting the Indian aunty bridge as superheroes!
According to a recent interview to The Independent, the artist runs workshops in a variety of specialist schools, particularly children who suffer with ADHD and Autism in the UK.
She is also a wickedly good artist, and her latest work is a series of superheroes with a twist: they're all Indian aunties and uncles.
Here are a few snippets from the interview about the project:

What compelled you to start on this project?
When I started my superhero aunties and uncles series, I reminisced about the typical stereotypical surroundings which I grew up in the 80s and wanted to shed light and pay tribute to their struggles, sacrifices and success stories after moving from their homes to UK.
What do you hope to achieve with these cartoons?
I like to stimulate the minds of my audiences by creating thought-provoking pieces which shed light on the 'similarities' of the eastern and western cultures.

And here is the 'aunty brigade' in their superhero avatars:
The Incredible Hulkwinder (The Hulk)

 Satnam Aunty (Batman)

Captain Shanti Devi (Captain America)

Billo Auntiji (Catwoman)
 Dead-Phool Auntiji (Deadpool)

Sherni-O Auntie


 Bulbreen Aunty (Wolverine)

 Ishpider Bhen (Spiderman)
And, The Joker - because what are superheroes without super-villains:
Joker Aunty
The artist apparently posted the series on her Instagram to mark International Women's Day.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Rehal describes her art as:

'My work reflects not only whats out there, but also who I am, how I see, and what I make of what I see. Though I have social, ritual relation with my surroundings, I would like to search there hidden relations and translate them in my work. We are carried in life to constant change, to adapt to that change is to make the great possibility of this experience exceptional' To me art evokes with emotion, braveness of mind and necessary experience.'

 

Kidda! #selfieafterages #kidda #yesiveusedfilters #ahem #besharmi
A photo posted by Kully Rehal (@kully_rehal) on Apr 9, 2016 at 7:30am PDT

 
You can check out more of her artwork on Instagram.
Read the full interview here.

• India