Image Journey, an educative exhibition on influence of popular images on mass culture

STIR @ SAF 2019

STIRring conversations at SAF’19 (Part 2): We speak to Jyotindra Jain on his curatorial framework and some of his favourite works, at the Serendipity Arts Festival.

by Rahul KumarPublished on : Jan 17, 2020

Does art influence the society and its culture, or, does the environment form the art of its time? It is probably both. Serendipity Arts Festival presented Image Journey, an exhibition that critically explored the idea of popular Indian imagery at the turn of the 20th century in the construction of its social and national identities. Sourced from institutions like Swaraj Archives, Sanskriti Foundation, MAP Bangalore, the works were also borrowed from the collection of Priya Paul and Jain’s private collection. It included engravings, chromolithographs, oleographs, photographs, calendars, trade and product labels, postcards, film posters, textiles and porcelain figures.

“The exhibition demonstrates how the printing and mass circulation of images widely influenced the nature of belief and worship in India and eventually even acted as powerful vehicle in shaping the independence movement and the diverse ideologies of patriotism,” explains Jyotindra Jain, as he gives us a curated walk at the historic Adil Shah Palace in Panjim, Goa.

Read on:

What do you think?

FICA presents an exhibition of young artists at Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa STIR @ SAF 2019

by Rahul KumarFeb 07, 2020

Art08 mins. read

Exploring ‘Kindling Change: Changing Face of Indian Crafts’ through ceramics and glass STIR @ SAF 2019

by Rahul KumarFeb 03, 2020

About Author

Rahul Kumar

Contributor

Rahul is the former Editor (Arts), STIR. He has been a Consulting Editor with Arts Illustrated and has written for various publications like Mint-Lounge and Vogue. Before retiring from mainstream corporate roles, he led an art venture for NDTV and was also involved in its television programming. He is a Fulbright scholar, a Charles Wallace fellow, and a practising artist.

Rohini Devasher’s Solar Poetics makes a case for wonder

Art 07 mins. read

Rohini Devasher’s Solar Poetics makes a case for wonder

Oct 02, 2026

by Srishti Ojha Oct 02, 2026

The Indian artist’s exhibition at the Bruce Museum in the US thinks through fundamental questions of humanity by focusing on the Sun and the cosmological timescale.