Chennai Photo Biennale, an international photography Biennale to be held from 22 February – 24 March 2019, is pleased to announce Pushpamala N. as the Artistic Director of the 2nd edition.
“I am honoured to be appointed Artistic Director of the 2nd Chennai Photo Biennale in 2019. I think it is an unconventional choice to invite me to curate the photo biennale and I hope to bring in some of my own thoughts and interests as a conceptual artist to the perception of photographic practice today. I believe that photography in its extended uses has been, more than any other art form, a witness of human activity and a continuing archive of modern life ever since its invention. Susan Sontag talks of photography as a ‘language’ : the Biennale will explore different languages of photography. Chennai itself as a location, has been an ancient sea port, an important colonial capital and is one of the major metros of the country, known for its social justice movements, its intellectual and cultural traditions, and its famous film industry. The Biennale will address some of those areas. As Artistic Director I am interested in provoking questions about the meaning of photography today in an age of new media: how in its various forms, pure and impure, old and new, it can engage with the world. I am excited to work together with a galaxy of artists from India and around the world who use the medium thoughtfully and innovatively” .
