Keerthana Kunnath
Not What You Saw
Foam 3h presents the first museum exhibition of London based photographer Keerthana Kunnath, who uses the camera as a tool to address socio-cultural issues.
For her debut series Not What You Saw Kunnath documented female bodybuilders in Kerela, Southern India, to break conventional stereotypes and reshape the cultural constructs of gender and beauty in the region.
The images, exuding both strength and softness, invite the viewer to question preconceptions of what a woman should look like - and look again.
About the exhibition
The Foam 3h exhibition Not What You Saw is by the photographer Keerthana Kunnath. Not What You Saw tells the stories of Aishu, Bhumika, Jannat, Kavitha, Sandra and others who move between domestic life and the weight room. Through Kunnath’s lens we observe how their bodies transform through intense training cycles, witnessing how setbacks shape them, and how their goals continue to evolve with their confidence. Empowerment here takes on a new meaning. The exhibition questions stereotypes and preconceptions of what a woman could and should look like and asks the viewer to think twice.
About the artist
Keerthana Kunnath is a London-based Indian artist who uses her medium to initiate conversations around socio-cultural issues. Through her practice, she tackles themes such as sexuality, queerness, womanhood and mental health which are not often discussed in her homeland of South India.