Fame and scandal in the art family seems to be more the norm than the exception of late. Art circles were abuzz with an exhibition titled Tits, Clits And Elephant Dick that sprawled across the length and breadth of the right wing of Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, heralding an august gathering of gigantic phallic and pubic symbols...but the moral police soon got into action to nip it in the bud. Conceived by Marathi poet, writer and visual artist, Sanjeev Khandekar, with artist, Vaishali Nerkar, it was an ambitious installation of sexually-explicit imagery designed to provoke viewers to think about the consequences of virtual sex that is so freely available at the click of a mouse today. Unfortunately, since the title was enough to repulse seasoned art lovers, the exhibition only succeeded in titillating those who came despite...or maybe because of...it.

Bose Krishnamachari triggered off a widespread discussion on what really constitutes art when he unveiled his latest 'artwork' - an exhaustive collection of books and DVDs, set up as an unlikely installation in the interior of the Museum Art Gallery. Chintan Upadhyaya, unofficial collaborator of Tits, Clits... has enjoyed more than his 15 seconds of fame, but attracted attention yet again when he divulged that he aims to depict and use dead female foetuses with a view to shaking viewers out of their lethargy and draw awareness to the problem of female infanticide that is so rampant in his native Rajasthan.

Papri Bose, whose solo show at Jehangir Art Gallery followed close on the heels of Khandekar's unbridled public display of affectation, stood her ground with A Free Man's Worship - a series of acrylics on canvas that sought to explore the nexus between the subconscious feminine spirit of men and the unconscious masculine tendency of women. Using erotica in tandem with symbols of regeneration like water, the linga and the yoni very subtly and unobtrusively, Bose's fertile imagination depicted this seductive interplay of sexual energy as the embodiment of life and a dance of celebration.

A successful artist from Bengal, Prokash Karmakar's paintings are depictions of lush landscapes and female nudes, the former perceived more by the senses than by the spirit. In Painting Such As The Dream, a female nude is portrayed in a state of complete abandon with blatant sexual overtones that suggest that the subject is a sex worker. However, he also comments on social issues, power equations and the repression of the poorer sections by the dominant classes in society - as seen in Lush at Priyasri Art Gallery.