Visual artist Raihan Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Thursday questioned the Bikaner House administration's move to remove 70 photographs documenting recent protests in Delhi from his solo exhibition just hours before its scheduled opening.
Vadra alleged that Bikaner House officials asked him to remove two photographs of the Indian flag from his exhibition after he had already set aside pictures containing overtly political slogans. He said officials argued that the context of the Delhi protests made the photographs political and subsequently asked him to remove more images after inspecting the exhibition for a second time.
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Deep Dive
Why were photographs removed from Raihan Vadra’s Bikaner House exhibition?
What did Raihan Vadra say about removing photographs of the Indian flag?
Did Raihan Vadra’s exhibition go ahead after the photographs were removed?
"I said, ‘But they are just pictures of the Indian flag. I do not think there is anything in your policy that says photographs of the Indian flag have to be removed’. At that point, I firmly told them to put their demand in writing if they wanted me to remove the photographs of the Indian flag. They did not send me anything in writing," news agency PTI quoted Raihan Vadra as saying.
He alleged that officials later removed one flag photograph themselves while he was at home preparing for the exhibition's opening, adding that he had recorded the incident on video.
'Most art is political, right?'
{{/usCountry}}He alleged that officials later removed one flag photograph themselves while he was at home preparing for the exhibition's opening, adding that he had recorded the incident on video.
'Most art is political, right?'
{{/usCountry}}Criticising the decision, Raihan Vadra said an art institution should not prohibit political content, arguing that political expression is integral to artistic practice.
“I had to tell them that an art institution should not have such a policy. I mean, most art is political, right? You cannot function as an artistic institution and then say that political content is not allowed,” he said.
Raihan also questioned the timing of the decision, claiming he had shared the exhibition layout with the administration on October 15 and received a response.
“You’re telling me just four hours before my show that you couldn’t see the layout. Now, 70 photographs have to be removed. What am I supposed to do?” he said.
He added that the photographs represented three years of his work and criticised the expectation that he remain silent over their removal.
“Three years of my work is now just sitting in a corner, and the walls are empty,” Raihan said.
Vadra wondered if there was a political motive behind the action as he said, “I've done many shows here, and I have great relationships with everyone who works here. I don't know if there was any pressure or anything from anywhere else. I know that it was the management here that decided to take that decision. I don't know if it's been done with a political motive.”
Acknowledging that he has the “unique opportunity to take a stand” as an artist given his family background, Vadra said, Public institutions like Bikaner House, Travancore Palace, and other big art fairs and public institutions have a responsibility to the ecosystem that holds them up: the artists, the galleries, the curators. Without that, this is just a bunch of restaurants."
"Those people have to be responsible, and they cannot put a curb on our freedoms of expression on artists, just because it doesn't suit them," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
(With PTI inputs)