Pushpamala N reimagines the Ramayana as a film set

Indian artist reinterprets history and mythology at the 1x1 Art Gallery, Dubai

The Arrival of Vasco da Gama by Pushpamala N. Courtesy 1x1 Art Gallery

1x1’s two shows by the Indian artist Pushpamala N share cinematic themes, in that they are both based on staged photographs that could be taken as stills from a movie set.

Avega: The Passion presents several chapters based on the national Indian epic, The Ramayana. It is at once clear, from the red walls and the dominance of women in the works, that this is a show charged with a lust for power soaked in a whole lot of oestrogen.

Pushpamala N herself stars in key moments in the Avega. The warrior king Rama is banished by his evil stepmother Kaikeyi, who wants her son to rule the kingdom. Rama's wife Sita and brother Lakshmana join him in the forest, where they remain for 14 years until Surpanakha, the shape-shifting demoness, tries to seduce the brothers. They mock her and when she lunges at Sita, Lakshmana cuts off her nose and ears.

Surpanakha goes to her brother, Ravana, for revenge. He kidnaps Sita but is killed by Rama, who is ultimately destined to rule.

The stories are told through select moments in Avega rendered in sepia photographs, video installations, giclée prints and a video loop – various artistic modes from the early 20th century. Then there is The Arrival of Vasco da Gama, a contemporary take on Orientalist and colonialist perceptions of the East: essentially, how Europe, through the arrival of da Gama, views the feudal societies of the East.

These shows are, by all means, a re-edit and a reinterpretation of history and mythology. Pushpamala N is basically saying: it isn’t the story, it’s how you tell it.