Pushpamala N プシュパマラ・N

Pushpamala N (born 1956) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Bangalore, India. Initially trained as a sculptor, she began creating ‘photo-performances’ and staged tableaux in the mid-1990s, assuming various roles to craft thought-provoking narratives. Her work explores the construction of the feminine as well as the scaffolding of the nation-state. Described as ‘the most entertaining artist-iconoclast of contemporary Indian art,’ Pushpamala inserts herself into the frame, positioning herself at the centre of social inquiry and exploring the artist’s role as both creator and product of historical forces.

At KYOTOGRAPHIE 2025, Pushpamala will exhibit works including The Arrival of Vasco da Gama, recently exhibited at Tate Modern. Drawing from José Veloso Salgado’s 1898 painting, Pushpamala reimagines the Orientalist work by embodying both Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, and the ruler of Calicut on India’s Southwestern coast. Also featured will be The Mother India project, an ongoing exploration of historical representations and cultural ideals amidst a transforming nation-state. Pushpamala’s multifaceted practice, encompassing performance photography, video, sculpture, writing and more, engages with India’s art community. Her process is inherently collaborative: after identifying a resonant ‘ready-made’ image, she recreates it in her studio, directing a cast of friends, amateurs, and technicians to realise her meticulously crafted scenes. Props and backdrops from these productions are often displayed alongside the photographs, as in The Arrival of Vasco da Gama, where the tools of its construction are presented alongside the image.

In contrast to high-tech digital manipulations, Pushpamala’s analogue, theatrically constructed mises-en-scène deliberately emphasise their artifice, drawing attention to the conceptual framework underpinning each work. Her practice offers incisive reflections on how cultural and national memory are shaped through visual language.