Photography in India ─ From Archives to Contemporary Practice

Photography's prominence in the representation and experience of India in contemporary and historical times has not guaranteed it a position of sustained attention in research and scholarship. For a technology as all pervasive as photography, and a country as colossal as India, this scenario is somewhat of an anomaly.

Photography in India explores elements of the past, present and future of photography in the context of India through speculation and reflection on photography as an artistic, documentary and everyday practice. The perspectives of writers, theorists, curators and artists are selectively brought to bear upon known as well as previously unseen photographic archives, together with changes in photographic practice that have been synchronous with contemporary India's rapid urban and rural transformation and the technological shift from chemistry and light to programming and algorithms.

Essential reading for anyone interested in Indian photography, this book binds insights into a history of photography with its contemporary development, consolidating wide-ranging thinking on the topic and setting the agenda for future research.

Dr Aileen Blaney is faculty and course leader for Screen Studies at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. She has a PhD in Film Studies awarded by Trinity College Dublin. Her scholarship on film and photography has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited collections.

Chinar Shah is a photo-based artist from India. She has shown her work at numerous places across the globe. She studied Literature and Cultural Studies at EFLU, Hyderabad and later did her PGDP in Photography at NID, Ahmedabad. She currently is a course leader for Photography at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore.