BENGALURU: Walking through the exhibit at the ongoing edition of Whitefield Art Collective, you will come across a series of picture portraits of women from history.
This curation by artist Kadambari Misra who modelled as these iconic women, is an attempt to ‘photographically interpret’ them.
The series has women from different regions and eras like Begum Hazrat Mahal, Tarabai Shinde, and more. “I looked to feature women with different stories. I find these stories keep repeating. They echo each other through eras and across countries,” says Misra, adding that all these women were ‘badass’ in different ways.
One of the ladies she portrays in the series is Muthulakshmi Reddy, who was born into the Devdasi community. “The trauma of that was so heavy. She became a law maker and was on a bench with so many British and Indian men. We’re talking about the 1880s, so it’s no mean feat. The first thing she did was pass a bill against the trafficking of women and children,” says Misra.
The series also features Bharat Ratna MS Subbulakshmi, capturing a rare side of the musical legend. “To us, she is the goddess of Carnatic music associated with the MS blue Kanjeevaram. I wanted to portray that one moment when she was this rebellious teenager,” she adds.
In a world where feedback is immediate, Misra got her share with someone mentioning that her work might come across as cosplaying. “It’s a little bit more than cosplay because I draw inspiration from these women,” she affirms.
For the photoshoot, she also restricted herself to not rent or buy any part of the costume and create it with whatever she had. “If you look at Puabi, who was a Mesopotamian queen, I made her headgear at home with spoons which were easily available,” she signs off.
(Iconic Women Project at Whitefield Art Collective is exhibited at VR Mall, till May 5)