The Ajaib Ghar Archive
How does memory, and its residue, shape our ways of seeing? Philippe Calia contemplates this question in his ongoing research on museum spaces. Through an archive that comprises images taken in exhibition galleries and those of comments found in visitors’ books, in museums across India, Calia draws attention to the constructs of the post-colonial institution, and its impact on our perception of art, artefact, and ideas. In exploring the subjectivity inherent to the relationship between the spectator and the image, "The Ajaib Ghar Archive" is as much a comment on the authority a museum wields in moderating this dynamic as it is on the photograph’s potential to elicit a multiplicity of meanings.
The museum, in its sacralizing of objects and in removing them from their contexts, frames societies within a particular arc of history. Calia’s images reveal its artifice ‒recognizing it as an "ajaib ghar" or a “house of wonders” while questioning its role as an institution of power. Embodying the colonial tendency to catalogue and define, the museum continues to further imperialist ambitions; in the contemporary moment however, in service of the nation-state. In its depiction of certain communities as specimens and types, it often furthers mainstream narratives disguised as “truth.”
By inviting the public to leave comments in his artist book, Calia challenges the aura of the exhibit, recognizing that narratives can be appropriated but also contested. Through the title ‒ "A Visitor’s Book" ‒ he hints at his own dual position as an author: as a French citizen working in India for fifteen years, and as a viewer who has turned into a maker of art himself. Distilling his lifelong exposure to art, Calia leaves his own comments in the form of his drawings. In recalling the “imaginary museum” in our memory, the artist prompts us to acknowledge its imprint on our perception of reality.
Tanvi Mishra
With the support from PhotoSouthAsia, India.
Artist presented by TARQ, India.
TARQ was founded in 2014 and was envisioned as a laboratory for young artists who would work towards pushing the boundaries of how contemporary art in India is perceived and exhibited. The program is an amalgam of exhibitions and educational initiatives. We intend to engage with a diverse audience to develop an informed viewership for contemporary art in the future.
Portrait of Philippe Calia ©Gayatri Ganju
Portrait of Tanvi Mishra ©Aditya Kapoor
Philippe Calia. "The Largest Fish in the World", Fish Gallery, Government Museum, Chennai, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.
Philippe Calia. "The Cave", Science City, Kolkata, 2018. Courtesy of the artist.
Philippe Calia. "Spelling Error", Mother's Wax Museum, Kolkata, 2018. Courtesy of the artist.
Philippe Calia. "Imaginary Museum VII (Picabia)", National Science Center, New Delhi, 2017. Courtesy of the artist.
Philippe Calia. "Imaginary Museum V (Miró)". Courtesy of the artist.