An Imposition
2014
Installation
Single-channel video, etched copper plates, 3D plaster print, handwritten imposition
Radhika Santvanamu, a narrative erotic poem, is a fraught subject in Telugu literature. Muddupalani was a 17th century writer and courtesan, and the colophon of her text assures one that she enjoyed a privileged status in the Tanjavur royal court. However, when Bangalore Nagaratnamma, a patron of arts and distinguished courtesan, reprinted the book in 1910, it was banned for obscenity and remained so until India's independence. Nagaratnamma was dissatisfied with redactions in the earlier editions, especially the 1887 version which completely omitted Muddupalani's original colophon and included a foreword by Orientalist lexicographer C. P. Brown speculating on her status as a writer.
2014
Installation
Single-channel video, etched copper plates, 3D plaster print, handwritten imposition
Radhika Santvanamu, a narrative erotic poem, is a fraught subject in Telugu literature. Muddupalani was a 17th century writer and courtesan, and the colophon of her text assures one that she enjoyed a privileged status in the Tanjavur royal court. However, when Bangalore Nagaratnamma, a patron of arts and distinguished courtesan, reprinted the book in 1910, it was banned for obscenity and remained so until India's independence. Nagaratnamma was dissatisfied with redactions in the earlier editions, especially the 1887 version which completely omitted Muddupalani's original colophon and included a foreword by Orientalist lexicographer C. P. Brown speculating on her status as a writer.
