The Fortune Teller 

Malini Gupta, artist 

OCHRE {art + design}, publisher 

2016 CE, Portland, Oregon, USA 

Folded paper fortune teller accompanied by a Japanese stab-bound book; sandstone 28-lb. paper ironed with wax 

N7433.4.G87 F67 2016 artists book 

In The Fortune Teller, Malini Gupta recounts the story of the sexual abuse she suffered throughout her childhood. The admission of this violation is buried within the top-bound book upon which the cootie-catcher rests. Much like how Gupta processed her trauma years later, the reader discovers what happened only after carefully turning the book’s delicate pages and persistently reading a text whose font grows increasingly smaller. The “fortunes” revealed in the fortune teller game are grim statistics of gender inequality in India. By including these harsh realities, Gupta upends a light-hearted game and underscores how arbitrary factors determine a young girl’s fate. 

Rachel Vorsanger