‘Sister Library’, a mobile library touring the nation with 100 books written only by women is the installation Aqui Thami has set up at the ongoing Kochi Muziris Biennale. This installation is a stance against gender inequality in India and across the globe. ‘Sister Library’ is installed in Pepper House, Fort Kochi, which is one of the venues of the Biennale. These 100 books are stacked inside a pink coloured shelf kept in a corner of the library at Pepper House.
Most of the books in the collection have woman-oriented themes with historical relevance. Some of these are illustrated and have photoes while some others are of cheap printing with little circulation. All books are from the personal collection of Aqui Thami. Books by Sylvia Plath, Ursula Le Guin, Alyssa Beachdel, Naomi Wolf, Gloria Steinem, Susan Sontag, Bell Hooks etc. make up the collection.
Aqui Thami came out with this concept to capitalize on the residual reading habit among women. The books written by women should be taken seriously by the people. The readers should celebrate woman-oriented themes. The views of women should be debated. A future without prejudices against women will only emerge that way, points out Aqui Thami.
Thami wants to highlight the trouble women face for reading in comfort and privacy.
Thami (29) has already toured five Indian cities with the ‘Sister Libray’. She came to the Kochi Biennale after touring Goa, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bengaluru.
‘Sister Libray’ is one of the four infra-projects in the 4th edition of the Kochi Muziris Biennale. Thami is currently working with Himanshu, the founder of ‘Dharavi Art Room’ in Mumbai. It is an institution aiming to give solace to the marginalized women and children through the medium of art and to stimulate their personal growth.
