Slavoj Žižek’s philosophical framework offers a unique lens to understand art’s role in society. Drawing on psychoanalysis, Marxism, and pop culture, Žižek approaches art as a site of ideological struggle, sublime disruption, and existential inquiry.

Our art exhibition, “Goycho Saib,” featuring paintings of St. Francis Xavier in the hues and shades of Goa, can be seen as a disruption of the sublime. These works challenge dominant narratives and invite us to confront the complexities of Goan society.

Žižek’s perspective on art emphasizes its entanglement with ideology and its capacity to reveal repressed tensions within the symbolic order. The paintings in our exhibition can be seen as symptoms of these tensions, carrying the pain of colonization and the contradictions of our society.

Art’s subversive potential lies in its ability to expose the “obscene underbelly” of ideology and to provoke thought. While Žižek is skeptical of art’s revolutionary claims, he sees it as a space for subversion, unsettling our assumptions and forcing us to dwell in the contradictions of our existence.

Our exhibition invites viewers to engage with the complexities of Goan society, to question their own enjoyment of the status quo, and to recognize art’s power to both mask and unmask the truths we live by. In a cultural landscape dominated by shallow spectacle, Žižek’s perspective reminds us that art’s true value lies in its capacity to provoke thought, not just pleasure.