“I’ve displayed these portraits under high ceilings too, but I think this is the lowest one,” says Franco-Indian visible artist Olympe Ramakrishna, referring to the low ceiling at Alliance Française of Hyderabad. Her set up, Women of Urban India, presently displaying at the French institute, options 12 oil portraits on silk, suspended from the ceiling like sarees drying on rooftop terraces.
Stories of modern women
A portrait on silk from the exhibition
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The collection portrays women we encounter on daily basis — in neighbourhoods, places of work, on travels, and amongst mates. Each picture captures the essence of India’s urban middle-class women: resilient, continuously adapting, and balancing the delicate tug between custom and modernity.
As a researcher finding out femininity and women’s id, Olympe first arrived in Bengaluru in 2010 from Normandie in France , the place she was struck by a brand new era of urban middle-class women. The modifications she noticed, she notes, went far past clothes decisions. From crafting their very own life paths to balancing a number of roles, these women navigate two worlds — one formed by world influences, the different rooted in custom.
Pointing to 1 of the portraits, she displays on the generational shift: the distinction between this lady, her mom, and her grandmother is huge, one thing she says is way much less pronounced in Europe, the place three generations of women in her family have led largely comparable lives.
Saris and silk
Portraits on silk from the exhibition
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The artist first painted the women — some neighbours, mates, and two of her husband’s cousins — on canvas. She then photographed the works, printed them onto Dupion silk, and suspended the portraits from the ceiling, mimicking the mild sway of saris drying on rooftops. The thought was impressed by evenings spent watching households collect on Bengaluru’s terraces —youngsters taking part in, grandparents chatting, and birds returning to the park, as freshly dried garments have been collected.
Having grown up round silk — ironing wedding ceremony attire for her designer father, John Francois — the material felt like a pure medium for Olympe’s set up. The venture, which started two years in the past, debuted in Bengaluru in November 2023, and has since travelled to Puducherry, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Paris. Next, she plans to discover the women of Kerala and Tamil Nadu by means of a big woven tapestry.
Women of Urban India by Olympe Ramakrishna on show at Alliance Francaise Hyderabad until June 15
Published – June 12, 2025 02:29 pm IST
