The West has a simplistic (at its best) tendency to exoticize ancient cultures of the world, diminishing their important contributions, or else claiming them as their rightful spoils of war or through outright theft. One result is that the complexity of India is virtually unknown to westerners who have never been there, and who have been presented with cultural appropriations that ignore the subcontinent’s diversity from north to south, from jungle to desert, from opulent wealth to abject poverty, from urban to rural to tribal existence. These things are important to bear in mind when curating the exhibition and writing this accompanying book on photography and lens-based art in 2018 India. Sunil Gupta was lead curator, selecting for FotoFest 2018 the work of 47 artists – either living and working in India or part of the Indian diaspora. An activist, artist, curator, educator, and writer, Gupta brings a keen intellect and discerning eye to the task. He brings together artists from across India who are as different and distinctive from one another as is their work.
Included in the book are commissioned essays by Zahid R. Chaudhary, Nada Raza, and Gayatri Sinha, which provide viewers with context, history, and some guidance through the cultural miasma.
[Disclosure: The MurthyNAYAK Foundation was a sponsor of FotoFest 2018.]
Copyright © 2021, PhotoSouthAsia. All Rights Reserved.
by Steven Evans and Sunil Gupta
Schilt Publishing, Amsterdam, 2018
ISBN: 978 90 5330 900 1
20 November
