This Kolkata exhibition spotlights the evolution of photography

Taking a photograph has never been easier than now because it takes only a click on your sophisticated cell phone to get a snap on which you can further work with AI tools to refine the frame. But photography, as a medium, has a history of over 200 years. Kicking off a prelude to the bicentennial is the photography exhibition, Touching Light, organised by Kolkata centre for creativity (KCC) and Museo Camera. This exhibition is not just a display of photographs, but a testament to the evolution of photographs and the evolution of the process itself. From box camera to analog photography, from negatives to actual photographs, from black and white to coloured ones, from heritage photo studio prints to individuals of fame, this curation includes them all.

Touching Light traces the evolution of the medium through negatives, box camera, film photos and more

Curator Aditya Arya and founder of Museo camera, mentions, “Touching Light brings together works that are not only images but artefacts. Each photograph reflects its own journey — of creation, survival, and preservation. The exhibition is as much about what is visible as it is about what endures, inviting viewers to engage with photography as a material and historical practice shaped by time.”

Hanging on the walls of the gallery are not just prints but fragments of cultural history. The exhibition brings together prints from Bourne & shepherd, a historical photo studio. This is, in fact, one of the peak points of the exhibition, as the prints from this studio are rare finds. one can also see albumen prints along with darogha abbas ali’s series Beauties of Lucknow. These are placed with analogue photographs, making the viewer understand the stage-wise evolution of photographic prints.

Richa Agarwal, chairperson, KCC, comments, “Through this exhibition, we aim to create a space where audiences can encounter photography as both archive and living practice —one that continues to evolve while remaining deeply rooted in human experience.”

The live box camera instalment with a decorated set adds more drama. In fact, you have to take a seat with a lush background elevating the frame and sit still for 8 seconds—not even a blink—to get your photographs taken. This instalment is a real-time demonstration of how photographs were once a luxury for the people, available only during fairs, melas and community gatherings.

Touching Light is on display till May 29.

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