Criminals, from the Series Native Women of South India 2003

Editor: So, this is "Criminals, from the Series Native Women of South India" by Pushpamala N., created in 2003. It's a photograph. It feels really stark and somber. Like a… police record? What do you see in it? Curator: It certainly mimics a police mugshot, doesn't it? A chill runs down my spine when I see it. But look closer… notice how the subjects are holding their identification plaques, almost… tenderly. They seem less hardened criminals and more like characters in a play, a rather unsettling one. Editor: A play? That's an interesting way to put it! Why do you say that? Curator: Pushpamala is playing with ideas of documentation, truth, and representation, wouldn't you agree? By mimicking mugshots she challenges our notions of criminality, especially in relation to women and the visual history of colonialism. And it makes me wonder, who decides who is criminal? What stories are missing? Did these women willingly take these roles? There is much to see that’s hidden beneath the surface. Editor: I didn't even think about the colonial aspect. Curator: Exactly! That's the brilliance. It's subtle, complex, and makes you think. These images haunt because they don't offer easy answers, which forces you to ask bigger questions! It makes us question our own roles in creating the “other”. You and I may look at this and never think, this is a true moment! Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Now what does *that* do to your senses? Editor: This gives a whole new layer of complexity to the work! Thanks, I'll never look at a mugshot the same way again. Curator: Wonderful. Just remember, in the world of art, it's often not just *what* you see, but *how* you see it. And *why* that particular vision manifests to you!