Light a fire on hypermasculinity

This painting titled 'Light a fire on hypermasculinity' was a Finalist in the 2020 Gosford Art Prize.

This painting is about warped monolithic hypermasculinity which is a deeply flawed archetype of what it means to be a 'real' man as it is centred around exagerrated muscular physique and promotes brute strength, aggression and violence as the ideal traits for problem solving and conflict resolution. The resulting stunted emotional growth and rigid gender expectations are detrimental to the goals of creating a truly equal society. Pop culture has been guilty of promoting this narrow gender binary view of toxic masculinity.

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Hi, I am Raj Panda. I am a Sydney based self-taught artist working in acrylic medium. I was born in India in 1984. I moved to Australia in 2007 and having been living here ever since.

I dabbled in art as a kid but academics got in the way so I shifted focus. I reconnected with art in 2012 when I was battling depression. Art has helped me discover my true voice.

I have been a Finalist in 26 Australian art prizes since 2016, including winning the Emerging Artist Award at the 2019 ANL Maritime Art Prize.