What are we? III
Joseph lives and works in the historic multicultural neighborhood of Mattancherry in Fort Kochi, India. Against this vibrant backdrop she set this dreamlike composition of predominantly Muslim women—identified by their dress—going about their everyday routines. This work and two other paintings that depict the lives of women in Mattancherry are titled after Paul Gauguin’s famous painting Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1897–98; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Unlike Gauguin’s colonialist approach toward Tahitian women, Joseph’s examination of her subjects’ interior lives is more sympathetic. "I set out to do a study of women’s lives around me, while being preoccupied about the ‘meaning of women’s lives,’" she has said. "Are women not anything more than means to make men’s lives easier while they go on their quest to make their own lives meaningful?" The existential quandary of this work’s title, What Are We?, may be the query these women ask of themselves and the gendered roles they navigate.
Artwork Details
- Title: What are we? III
- Artist: Sosa Joseph (Indian, born Parumala 1971)
- Date: 2012
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 58 15/16 in. × 12 ft. 1 15/16 in. (149.7 × 370.7 cm)
Weight crated 157 lbs (9/29/2023) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Funds from various donors and Estate of Howard Hodgkin Gift, 2022
- Object Number: 2022.123
- Rights and Reproduction: Copyright Sosa Joseph, 2012, All rights reserved
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Sudhir Patwardhan
1998
Christine Ay Tjoe
2021
Bahman Mohassess
1966
Huguette Caland
1973–74
Yoshio Sekine
1965
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.