What Freedom Looks Like

The exhibition, researched and curated by Aditya Ruia, presents new thoughts on broadsides, large paper sheets historically used as posters and advertisements. These collages, found in the Havelis of Shekavati in Rajasthan, were created at the cusp of Independence and ingeniously promote the cause of nation building The painted backgrounds were produced by women artists of Nathdwara; they were juxtaposed against cut-outs from prints in national circulation. Expressing a regional understanding of events affecting the country as a whole, they use a form that has resonances with traditional story telling. These collages coalesce the traditional art form of painting and the newer mechanical processes of printmaking, deifying the nation and its political leaders.