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The project "Re-Imaging The People of India" has been inspired by my passion for studying and collecting the images from the early years of photography, especially in the context of the Indian subcontinent. It also relates to my study of the evolution of the visual space with the advent of new technologies, from cameras with no shutter to high-speed electronic devices. The photographic activity in India started soon after its public and commercial announcement in Europe in the 1840s. It was led by early British professional photographers and hobbyists, before the first large grand studios opened in the 1850s & 1860s. The original "People of India" project in 1850 was the first photography project combining street and studio. Four leading contemporary photographers contributed to "Re-Imaging The People of India" under the aegis of the Neel Dongre awards/grants for Excellence in Photography. The project was conceived with the idea of looking at the visual interpretation of and analogies within similar communities. Even though in the past this original work has been under scrutiny and heavy criticism for its biases, these images, unlike the descriptive texts which accompanied them, are left open to many interpretations. The project, an exercise of re-interpretation of aesthetics in the context of the creation of the original work, was an exploration of the ideological origins of early photographic work. The theme of castes and tribes visually explored in the context of the earlier work is extremely interesting. While the contemporary artists have given it another brilliant twist, the subject raises the question of the ideologies of the past and present contexts of the execution of the work. It is also critical to understand the role of the technology used then and now. In this regard, John Waterhouse, one of the original photographers, made an observation very telling of the photographer’s mindset then, complaining of how his subjects were "often uncooperative or uncomprehending subjects, who did not appreciate the necessity to remain still for the duration of the exposure." Conversely, the technology and processes used by the contemporary artists were mostly high-end digital, but for Dilip Prakash, who photographed using large format 4x5 sheet film. The limitations posed by technology in the early works probably produced only one usable image in a day, whereas the limitless capacities of today’s cameras only suffer from the paucity of time for the subjects. I am grateful to my colleagues Dilip, Dinesh, Sandeep and Mahesh, who have produced remarkable and brilliant images that force us to take another look at the redundant idea of caste, tribes and social identities in today’s context. Re-imaging The People of
India, which is being held at India International Centre, New Delhi,
will be on till April 26.
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