Bengaluru, with little pride and much debate, thrives on a reputation of being a city of constant change and influx. The change and its pace, of course, have to do with Bengaluru being the IT hub of India, a title that the city and its people have simultaneously lauded and laboured to catch up with. The Whitefield Art Collective’s exhibition this year, themed The Future is Now, houses two exhibits in particular – Mapping Bengaluru and Bengaluru in Focus – that together offer an in-depth context to the city’s growth since its inception, and how its residents see it at present.
Mapping Bengaluru, true to its name, is a project that is archival in nature. Housing photographs and maps of the city dating right back to the first rudimentary map drawing up the boundaries of the city, made by James Ross in 1800 and titled Survey of The Boundaries of the Purgunnah of Bangalore, the exhibit provides a fascinating insight to viewers about the history of the city. Sumi Gupta, curator at Whitefield Art Collective, explains, “Mapping Bengaluru presents the city’s evolution through maps and archival photography, making urban history more tangible and relatable to the public.” About the maps themselves, Gupta adds, “The maps serve as a powerful visual tool, allowing visitors to trace the city’s growth and understand how its geography and urban planning have evolved. They offer a tangible connection to the past, enabling people to reflect on Bengaluru’s journey from a historic settlement to a modern metropolis.”
As one peruses the maps, the aforementioned IT boom and its repercussions become apparent. Networks of roads and the population gets denser, especially around areas favourable for said growth, and concurrently, lakes and green covers become sparser with the progression of time. A map of the city in 1983 serves as an important marker in this transition, and it is apparent that most of the present industrial infrastructure in Bengaluru – the establishment of which, a footnote credits to Sir M Visvesvaraya, the then Dewan of Mysore – was already set up by this time. Gupta, who calls the maps ‘compelling visual narratives’, states, “The maps create curiosity and dialogue among audiences, effectively bridging the gap between science and public understanding. They raise awareness about the evolving landscape of Bengaluru and the layers of history that shape the present.”
Bengaluru in Focus offers a different, more emergent, and contemporary side of the city. Essentially a curation of photographs by the city’s residents, the exhibition shows Bengaluru through a youthful gaze, underscoring what urban modernity means to the eyes that wander within the city’s bounds. The photographs find beauty in places of heritage like Cubbon Park, but also in banality and minutiae, giving one a comprehensive expanse of the myriad ways the city likes to be seen. As Gupta states, “The goal lies in democratising art and amplifying new voices that might not normally have the platform to display their works. It also encourages audiences to reflect on their relationship with the built environment and urban landscape, making photography a highly accessible and impactful medium for telling a story – especially the story of Bengaluru.”
(The exhibition, being held at VR Mall, Whitefield, is open to visitors from 9am to 11pm till April 30)