Don't miss ‘The Surface of Things’, an exhibit on Photography as Process at Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Française de Delhi (On View : 25th November to 13th December 2016 / 11 am to 8 pm, Walkthrough With Artists : Srinivas Kuruganti & Edson Beny Dias : 26th November / 5:30 to 6:30 pm & Sukanya Ghosh & Uzma Mohsin : 3rd December / 5:30 to 6:30 pm)

      

Commemorating 200 years since the first photograph ‘A View through the Window in Le Gras’ was taken, dated 1826, the Embassy of France in India opened an exhibition titled “The Surface of Things: Photography as Process” celebrating the invention of photography by French engineer Joseph Nicéphore Niêpce. Also commemorating 60 years of the anniversary of the Alliance Française de Delhi, the exhibit co-organised with the Institut français India with the support of The Alkazi Foundation for the Arts.

Featuring the works of four contemporary artists – Uzma Mohsin, Srinivas Kuruganti, Sukanya Ghosh and Edson Dias, the exhibit a conversation about everything from the usage, practice and purpose of the medium to the territory of memory-making where technology, the archive and history meld into a contemporary composite and layered form.

“From the initial trials in 1816 to the more conclusive work that followed, the invention of photography demanded several years of experiments with reflective surfaces,” said Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler in the foreword to the exhibit, adding “By questioning the idea of the very process at the core of this exploration, ‘The Surface of Things’ pays excellent tribute to a man whose work, though decisive in the perfection of the technique, long remained unrecognised.”

Rahaab Allana writes in his curatorial note about the exploration of photography as process, where “the idea of continuity in practice becomes…more about the uncharted, isolated systems that bring us back to the process of seeing and being seen; framing and being framed – by paying tribute to a 200-year old practice that is always about to begin again,” 

The exhibition explores the role of technology in the circulation and appropriation of photography. This modern legacy will be further explored during a seminar on December 9 entitled “Photo Sensitive: Locating Photography Today” featuring a debate co-organised by Institut français India hosting French and Indian experts, critics and artists.

Indian curator Rahaab Allana will also be collaborating with  France’s François Cheval, Director of the Nicéphore Niêpce Museum  in curating major photographic events during the upcoming Bonjour India program (November 2017 – February 2018) that highlights Indo-French partnership in creativity and innovation.

Please feel free to call or email me for more information.dan@ifindia.in