Works by Annu Palakunnathu Matthew. "Using digital technology to alter the Indian movie posters, I re-interpret the images to make blatantly satirical commentary and humorously challenge traditional gender roles and behavior in Indian society based on my experiences. The final images include myself, other imagery and text from other sources." A. Palakunnathu Matthew.
Works by Annu Palakunnathu Matthew. "Using digital technology to alter the Indian movie posters, I re-interpret the images to make blatantly satirical commentary and humorously challenge traditional gender roles and behavior in Indian society based on my
experiences. The final images include myself, other imagery and text from other sources." A. Palakunnathu Matthew
The Artist states that: The digital
portfolio, Bollywood Satirized, is a
critical commentary on the societal
expectations that I experienced as
a woman growing up in India. To
create this work, I start with Indian
movie posters, a reflection of the
popular culture and the melodrama
of Indian life. The visual and aural
presence of cinema in India is the
result of the largest commercial film
industry in the world that produces
close to one thousand movies a
year. Most of the film industry is concentrated in Bombay,
which is also called 'Bollywood'.
Using digital technology to alter the Indian movie posters, I
re-interpret the images to make blatantly satirical
commentary and humorously challenge traditional gender
roles and behavior in Indian society based on my
experiences. The final images include myself, other imagery
and text from other sources. As Deborah Frizzell in NY Arts
2001 wrote 'The sensual, seductive medium of mass
produced Indian movie posters of banal musicals are
manipulated to send messages about the construction of
feminine and racial roles by a patriarchal society'.
Gallery Sumukha, begun in 1996 by art lover and collector
Premilla Baid, is committed to increasing art awareness.
Apart from offering a wide selection of works in various
media by different artists, the gallery is working towards
an expansion of the awareness of Indian Contemporary Art
beyond the boundaries of India. In this context, Sumukha
has already taken exhibitions and workshops to Nepal, the
UK and USA. The gallery houses a vast number of works
from India and abroad. Plans are also underway to initiate
scholarships and other encouragements for up-coming
younger artists with the overall view of strengthening and
promoting art awareness and appreciation.
Sumukha stocks and shows a wide variety of quality works by both established as well as young and promising
artists, so that there is a constant flow of vibrancy and life to be experienced. Well respected names like Yusuf
Arakkal, S.G. Vasudev, Akbar Padamsee, Paresh Maity, Sunil Das, Shyamal Datta Ray, Suhas Roy,
K.Muralidharan, Achuttan Kudallur, C. Douglas, Rm. Palaniappan, Jogen Choudhury, Shuvaprasanna, Shipra
Bhattacharya, Jayasree Burman (to name but a few) can be seen alongside young and promising names like
Ravi Kumar Kashi and printmaker Archana Hande, Asma Menon and many others.
Sumukha, in the effort to promote Indian contemporary art, has organized exhibitions and art camps in the USA,
UK and Nepal Plans for the future include more such forays into distant areas to bring together a stronger
understanding of various cultures through their styles of contemporary art.
Gallery Sumukha
24/10, BTS Depot Road
Wilson Garden, 560 027 Karnataka
Bangalore
Tel: 91-80-229 2230
Fax: 91-80-226 0813