Deja Vu

Story by Niyati Hirani & Pranidhi Gupta

Secrets of the Studio

Cool light casting strong shadows in a sparely furnished room. A photograph on the wall contrasts old and new India; the broken down bungalows fast disappearing from the old areas of the cities, and a two-wheeler, the symbol of the new, forward-moving India. This image brings to mind a black and white photograph of the Indian modernist artist Nasreen Mohamedi; striped pallu touching the floor, shining black hair pulled back neatly, Mohamedi works on a painting in her orderly Bombay studio. Indeed, the iconography of the female artist in her studio runs like a thread through this series of photographs.

Paintbrush in hand, the model-as-artist fixes the viewer directly with her critical gaze, presenting an alternative to the male gaze that has left the twentieth century running decidedly short on female master-artists. A yellow wheel burns to a red-orange in a state of mid-execution on the easel. It brings to mind the yellow chakra, Manipura, which influences power, control and the freedom to be yourself. We have entered the sanctity of the artist’s studio, and one feels that the interruption is not welcome.

The presence of maps, stacked books and a camera recall Nasreen Mohamedi’s photographic practice. Travelling extensively in the Middle East, she captured semi-abstracted desert landscapes with her camera, later using the images for inspiration for her abstracted line paintings. The compulsion to travel and experience the world, the instinctive impulse to look outward, is set against the familiarity and safety of home.

Two photographs in the series play on the compositions and self-portraits of the most famous female painters of the twentieth century: Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Kahlo’s striking looks and unique dress sense were a feature of her powerful and iconic self-portraits. Often depicting herself in traditional Mexican dress, surrounded by images of her national heritage, she harnessed the symbolism of plants, flowers and animals. Here, the background cloth conjures up the old photographic studios of Bourne & Shepherd, and couples sent to have the unease of their freshly announced engagements captured forever. In this studio though, the women stand alone with their dreams, their ambitions, their regrets and their hopes.

By Laura Gray

Photography & Cinematography: Pranidhi Gupta | Fashion Editor: Pink Pyjama | Video Editor: Srijan Chaurasia | Music: Bandish Projekt | Makeup & Hair: Romi Thockchom | Makeup Assistant: Kenand | Model: Mitali Rannorey at Toabh Talents, Mumbai, India | Production: Doorbeen Creatives |
Contributing Brands: Pero, Eka, Amrapali, Munkee See Munkee Doo, Sanchita Ajampur, Manifest Designs, Dhora, House of Tuhina, Three, Kichu, Contrast Living