EXHIBITION : Tasveer presents "Photowallah" a solo show of photographs by Waswo X. Waswo at Exhibit 320, F 320, Lado Sarai > 8th to 18th October 2016

Time : 11:00 am to 7:00 pm (Closed on Sundays) Add to Calendar 08/10/2016 11:00 18/10/2016 19:00 Asia/Kolkata EXHIBITION : Tasveer presents "Photowallah" a solo show of photographs by Waswo X. Waswo Event Page : http://www.delhievents.com/2016/10/exhibition-tasveer-presents-photowallah.html Exhibit 320, F 320, Lado Sarai, New Delhi - 110 030 DD/MM/YYYY  - Exhibition on View

Entry : Free

Venue : Exhibit 320, F 320, Lado Sarai, New Delhi - 110 030
Venue Info : www.exhibit320.com | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Saket(Yellow Line)'

Event Description : EXHIBITION : Tasveer presents "Photowallah" an exhibition of limited edition hand-coloured photographs by celebrated American-born, Rajasthan-based photographer, Waswo X. Waswo

The exhibition showcases Waswo’s signature studio portraits — hand-coloured by his longtime collaborator, Rajesh Soni — and is accompanied by a new publication with reproductions of Waswo’s classic images, alongside new images that have never been seen before. The book also includes an essay by photographic theorist, Dr. Christopher Pinney, and a series of short stories by Waswo himself.

Waswo X. Waswo first visited India in 1993; after several trips in the intervening years, he finally moved to India, renting a home and building a studio in Udaipur in 2006. Photowallah presents for the first time, a survey of Waswo’s hand-coloured work through a wide selection of photographs produced in this studio – including prints from three series: A Studio in Rajasthan, Gauri Dancers and New Myths.
Playfully examining the genres of both the ethnographic photograph-as-document that is linked to the colonial era, as well as the fantasy-inspired make-believe that emanated from traditional Indian portrait studios in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Waswo creates a unique brand of contemporary photography that is an inspired mix of homage and critique. 
Ranging from shots of single figures to theatrically arranged tableaux, these photographs feature everyone from Gauri dancers to flower sellers, the incarnations of mythological figures, farmers and school children. In the tradition of pictorialism, Waswo’s carefully crafted images with their pastoral backdrops and hand-tinted processing resonate with a romantic sensibility, while yet remaining humorously self-aware and self-reflexive.
Eschewing the idea of his work being predominantly nostalgic, Waswo writes, “I embrace a certain element of nostalgia in my work, which is quite a daring thing to do when the very word ‘nostalgia’ is thought of as negative in the world of contemporary art. But for me, we must always look backwards as well as forwards, and nostalgia does play a role in helping us remember the positive in the past that we may have forgotten in our present, and lose to total obliteration in our future. So for me nostalgia becomes just another tool for making contemporary art.” Moving far beyond nostalgia, Waswo’s works then resonate within a contemporary moment, not only by highlighting the inherent class hegemonies of the history of the posed-and-paid-for portrait, but also as astute and witty commentaries on the nature of stereotyping, temporality and representation. Through their paradoxes and parodying, they compel viewers to rethink their initial perceptions, question the dialogue set up between photographer and model, and eventually challenge the viewer’s own preconceptions.

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