This exhibition explores the notion of photography through granularity

Highly grainy is inspired by the words of Walid Raad, who discusses how photography can capture images in unconventional ways—upside down, in black and white, and with high grain — making them archives of reality. Another key influence is German artist Hito Steyerl, who highlights the social importance of high-resolution, sharply defined images while pointing out that the world is largely composed of low - resolution, pixelated visuals that exist in various uncontrolled contexts.

In a world saturated with processed art, the concept of granularity may challenge audiences witnessing the exhibition and they encourage reflection on one’s relationship with photography. Artist Tanita Singh has documented Zakir Hussain over the past 20 years, capturing both mundane and public moments that reveal a granular perception of his life.

Ashima Taizada explores her relationship with her brother, who has autism, through his everyday objects, creating a body of work that reflects familial intimacy and the granularity of closely observing someone’s life. Similarly, Jai Singh Nageshwaran captures moments with Medha Patkar, the activist behind Narmada Bachao, revealing aspects of her life that are rarely seen. Talking about his relation with Narmada river he shares, “My work comes from a Dalit perspective. In India, it’s our land and schools that are being demolished. My work reflects my childhood story, particularly about my grandmother and her school that was demolished.”

The exhibition conveys that “to save life as we see it” means acknowledging its inherent graininess. The use of iPhones can create the illusion of a high-resolution world, but in reality, life is often highly grainy. One of the artists, Enit María, presents Exposure 001 Some Kind of Stillness for 24 Minutes, which offers a multilayered exploration of imagemaking. She notes, “My work bridges photography and performance into a new situation where the artist, the model, the instruction, the handmade lens-less cameras, and the long duration of time needed for the moment to be registered on the photo paper all play out in the open to establish that the process is the work itself.”

Another artist with an unconventional approach is Hari Katragadda, who has created cyanotypes using Ganga water over a 24-hour period, producing a grid of 24 cyanotypes that reflect each hour. He explains, “Cyanotypes are made using distilled water and chemicals, but I use the contaminated water and pollutants in the Ganga river and utilize this glitch in the cyanotype process to produce art.”

Srinivas comments on how the shift from conventional forms of photography resonates with a broader contemporary movement emphasising materiality, often intertwined with nostalgia. Interestingly, while digital images can often be criticised for being pixelated, grainy analogue images are frequently valued more highly.

Free entry. On till November 20. 11 am - 7 pm. At Dhi Contemporary, Madhapur.

Story by Anshula Dhulekar