Photographic Space and the Indian Portrait Studio

According to Satish Sharma portrait photographs in India are "dictated by a belief system that sees the world as maya – an illusion. The photograph now becomes an illustration of an illusion. It draws not just on a religious belief in maya but seems to see life as a leela – a play – enacted theatre" (Sharma 1997: unpaginated).

Photographic Space and the Indian Portrait Studio Wendy Garden University of Melbourne http://www.doubledialogues.com/archive/issue_seven/garden.html Figure 4 Unidentified man, Unknown studio, c1970s Courtesy Satish Sharma