I Was Not Waving But Drowning II

Artists

Description

This series consists of 14 color photographs that depict the artist, Atul Bhalla, slowly submerging himself in the Yamuna River in Delhi. The photographs are vertical in format and intended to be viewed in a linear series which shows the progression of the central figure into the water. The color palette of the series is warm, with a combination of Bhalla's flesh, the calm water surface, which mirrors a bright sky, Bhalla, and a hazy green line of trees on the bank in the background. The soft quality of the trees and the reflections in the water contrast with the sharply defined contours of the artist's portrait. These light-filled images appear to almost glow on their own, an effect that is likely enhanced by the refracting light passing through the plexiglass face mounting.

Dimensions

each H. 45.5 × W. 30.2 cm (17 15/16 × 11 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Atul Bhalla (2005-2008, New Delhi, India), sold [through Sepia Gallery, New York]; to Harvard Art Museums, 2008.