The underdog fascinates her, especially the female of the species.

"My work has re-tracked the familiar terrain of questioning various frameworks of social injustice and violence, transmuting my concerns to the intimate, often hidden private lives of women. They are sculptures that speak, that address the burning questions of the inequalities that exist in society, especially with relation to the female of the species."

Navjot Altaf brings to her work a sense of social commitment and a need to expose the injustice and cruelties practiced against the weaker sections.

Navjot began life in the old city of Meerut. She moved to Mumbai in 1969, where she enrolled in the Sir J. J. School of Art subsequently earning her diploma in 1972. With several solo and group exhibitions behind her, she moved on to participate in an installation art show that comprised paintings, screen printers, films and music.

Navjot uses her art to offer invaluable insight into the plight of women in a predominantly patriarchal society where violence, sexual abuse and discrimination are the norm rather than the exception.

They are not just immobile bodies but capable of acting on their own behalf with determination and guile according to the situations they find themselves in. Her technical expertise and the variety of materials she employs ensure that Altaf creations are a visual delight as well as being social statements of issues close to her heart.

Over the past three decades, Navjot has also been working with craftsperson from the Bastar district in Madhya Pradesh. "I have been interacting with Jaidev Behgel, a master craftsman in bell metal, and his colleagues from Bastar. The Gadhba tribal community in Bastar, where we are working, continues a tradition of bell metal sculptures. In most cases, woodcarvers, having attended training programmes under local teachers, acquire skills of carving both wood and stone."

Navjot Altaf lives and works in Mumbai.