Hands And Face Project

Last year, performance artiste Diya Naidu ventured into the streets of Bengaluru, with a cameraperson in tow, to conduct a social experiment. She approached 20 unsuspecting men and stood in front of them. As the camera rolled, she asked them to make eye contact with her. If either party was curious, they could also touch each other's face. Her subjects, all in their 20s and 30s, and from across socio-economic strata, ranged from security guards and paanwalas to erudite businessmen and fellow performing artistes. "Of course, everyone was uncomfortable in this contrived setting," says the 34-year-old Bengaluru-based artiste, who also extended the experiment to women.