Bombay Photo Studio, Navarasa

The Navarasa Suite; Sringara, Hasya, Bhibhatsa, Karuna, Shanta, Veera, Adbhuta, Raudra, Bhayanaka. The Navarasa Suite is a set of self-portraits taken at the portrait studio of Mr JH Thakker, based on the nine moods of the Rasa Theory in Indian Aesthetics. Pushpamala stages the nine rasas, or ‘flavours/essences’ corresponding to emotions- love, joy, wonder, courage, peace, sadness, anger, anger, fear, and disgust. Representing early Indian studio photography, with characteristic expressionist lighting, the photographs deal with fantasy and storytelling rather than realism. Through these works Pushpamala questions stereotypical conventions associated with femininity.

The work was featured as part of the exhibition 'Connecting Threads: Textiles in Contemporary Practice'. The exhibition was curated by Tasneem Zakaria Mehta and Puja Vaish and attempts to trace textile practices, traditions and histories in Contemporary Indian Art.