In 'Acts of Appearance', Gauri Gill transforms the everyday life of an Indian village into a poetic stage, where intricate masks blur the line between reality and fantasy – revealing hidden stories, cultural traditions, and human experiences.
The project was created in collaboration with numerous papier-mâché artists from the Kokna and Warli tribal communities in an Adivasi village in the Palghar district, inland from Dahanu. This district is among the poorest regions of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The participants are renowned for their intricate papier-mâché work, especially the ritual masks they craft for the annual Bohada procession.
For this ongoing collaborative project, begun in 2014, the artists created new masks inspired by human features, animals, and everyday or symbolically charged objects. In Gill’s photographs, the artists and local volunteers wear these masks while carrying out their daily routines. The resulting scenes oscillate between documentary realism and dreamlike visions – playful and symbolic, yet firmly rooted in the daily life, culture, and surroundings of the participants.
Gauri Gill (*1970, Chandigarh, India) lives in New Delhi. Her work is defined by a collaborative approach, “active listening,” and an understanding of photography as an act of remembering. She repeatedly engages with questions of identity, caste, class, and community – themes that shape social interaction and mobility in India. Her images convey empathy, wonder, and a deep understanding of strategies for survival.
Gill has exhibited internationally, including at the 58th Venice Biennale, MoMA PS1 in New York, documenta 14 in Athens and Kassel, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2016), and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Her works are represented in major international collections. In 2011 she received Canada’s prestigious Grange Award, and in 2012 she published the photo book Balika Mela with Edition Patrick Frey.
Gauri Gill – Acts of Appearance
Design: Akila Seshasayee, David Keshavjee (Maximage)
Paperback, 188 pages, 126 illustrations, 16.1 × 24 cm
With texts by Gauri Gill and Yuvraj Bhagvan Kadu in Hindi and English
ISBN 978-3-90736-90-1, CHF 38 / EUR 38