ABSTRACT
The decolonization of the Indian subcontinent remapped the subjects of cultural past for posterity. The reception entwined with continuity and preservation necessitates acculturation of colonial knowledge system. The essay is based on the premises that history is used as a point of reference to evoke a thread of inspiration and shift. From this perspective, the essay studies the visual remanifestations showcased at the exhibitions: The Ethnographic Series, part of Native Women of South India by Pushpamala N. and Pageants of the Raj – The Workforce by Devangana Kumar. The essay attempts to highlight how in the past few years, contemporary India has fostered artists who keenly replay the British conception of oriental representations. If the proximity of cultures, a counter-product of spatial–temporal compression, is instrumental in bringing supposed inclusiveness of state and market, then the essay investigates how the images are a bid to restructure a society by the artists.
