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Poulomi Basu

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Poulomi Basu (1983) is an Indian artist, documentary photographer and activist[1], much of whose work addresses the normalisation of violence against marginalised women.[2][3][4][5]

Basu received the Royal Photographic Society's Hood Medal for the series Blood Speaks, about the Nepalese practice of Chhaupadi.[6] In 2017, Basu was selected for the Sundance New Frontiers Lab Fellowship.[7] Her photobook Centralia, about the conflict between the Indian state and the Maoist People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, has been shortlisted for the 2021 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, and is thus currently on show at The Photographers' Gallery in London.[8]

Early life

Basu was born and raised in Kolkata, India.She did her schooling from Pratt Memorial School.[4] She has said "I grew up in a home with all kinds of taboos, and it was an extremely violent, patriarchal and misogynistic environment. I saw how these things were related and became interested in exploring the complex web of patriarchy."[9]

Work

Basu's work often addresses the normalisation of violence against marginalised women.[5]

Her To Conquer Her Land series depicts the first female soldiers in the Indian Army, on the India–Pakistan border.[10][11]

A Ritual of Exile: Blood Speaks deals with the Nepalese practice of Chhaupadi, which "dictates that women who are menstruating, and those who experience bleeding after childbirth, must live in makeshift huts because they are considered impure and therefore untouchable. Exiled by their communities and families, the women are refused access to water and toilets and must eat food scraps, fed to them as though they were animals." Basu made the work in Surkhet District, in a remote region of Nepal, in 2013, 2014 and 2016. When exhibited, the work includes two screen projections, photographs shown in LED-powered light boxes, a surround-soundscape and an immersive virtual reality installation—"The room deliberately evokes the oppressive environment inhabited by the women".[12][9]

Centralia focuses on the female guerrillas of the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.[13] Sean O'Hagan wrote in The Guardian that the book "casts light on an overlooked conflict between the Indian state and the Maoist People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, which is made up of volunteers from a beleaguered indigenous community. Basu moves effortlessly between traditional documentary and a heightened, almost hallucinatory approach that reflects both the brutality of the conflict and the state propaganda that feeds on half-truths and manipulated "facts"."[8] Basu takes cues from "the literary work of William Faulkner, J G Ballard and Arundhati Roy, as well as the dream narratives of David Lynch" ... "in composing Centralia, which is set largely in the state of Chhattisgarh, as well as the states of Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand".[13]

Other activities

Basu is a co-founder/director of Just Another Photo Festival, begun in 2015, which seeks to democratise access to visual media.[14]

She is a visiting lecturer at University of the Arts London's Visible Justice and collaborative Unit.[15]

Publications

Books of work by Basu

  • Centralia. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2020. ISBN 978-1-911306-57-3.[16][17]

Publications with contributions by Basu

Exhibitions

Awards

She has been selected as a Hundred Heroine which recognises significant female photographers.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Five brilliant activists breaking the taboos around menstruation". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  2. ^ "Centralia: Poulomi Basu". GUP Magazine. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  3. ^ "Aesthetica Magazine - Responsive Image Making". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  4. ^ a b c "Poulomi Basu - Indian Photographer". hundredheroines.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  5. ^ a b "The photographer exposing misogyny's insidious roots". Huck Magazine. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  6. ^ a b "RPS Awards 2020". rps.org. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  7. ^ http://www.sundance.org/pdf/press-releases/2017-05-10-new-frontier-story-lab-news-release-final2.pdf
  8. ^ a b O'Hagan, Sean (10 November 2020). "This year's Deutsche Börse prize shortlist is fascinating – but is it photography?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  9. ^ a b "Blood Speaks: 'Period Activist' and Photographer Poulomi Basu Campaigns Against Violence". ArtReview. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  10. ^ Basu, Indira (15 April 2016). "Art for the everyday feminist". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  11. ^ "Poulomi Basu: To Conquer Her Land at Half King Gallery". Musée Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  12. ^ a b c "On show at Format: Poulomi Basu's A Ritual of Exile". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  13. ^ a b "Centralia by Poulomi Basu". British Journal of Photography. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  14. ^ "Delhi's Just Another Photo Festival wants to prove that it's different from the rest". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  15. ^ "Biographies". visible-justice.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  16. ^ "Humphrey Hawksley - Along the Red Corridor". Literary Review. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  17. ^ "Review: Centralia by Poulomi Basu". Hindustan Times. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  18. ^ "Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2021". The Photographers Gallery. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  19. ^ "Time Exclusive: Magnum Emergency Fund Announces 2016 Grantees". Time. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  20. ^ "These Photographers Confront Intolerance to Document What Works". Time. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  21. ^ "Blood Speaks: A Ritual of Exile wins 2017 FotoEvidence Book Award - Capture magazine". www.capturemag.com.au. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  22. ^ d'Arles, Les Rencontres. "2020 Louis Roederer Discovery Award: 10 Shortlisted Projects". www.rencontres-arles.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  23. ^ "In Conversation: Curator Daniel Boetker-Smith and the Winners of SIPF Book Awards". 22 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  24. ^ "The 2021 Deutsche Börse Photography prize sheds light on global issues". The Independent. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  25. ^ "The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2021". The Times. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  26. ^ Ponsford, Matthew. "Prestigious photo prize honors docu-fiction on India's hidden war". CNN. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
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