Sam Madhu's Digital Art Series Aims To Reclaim South Asian Beauty From Its Colonial Past

You’ll find that in almost all the aspects of our socio-cultural fabric, majority groups in India hold a monopoly on societal narratives and think of themselves as the superior kind. In a nation where more than 70% of the population is dark-skinned, we’re a little too obsessed with fair skin. This has been the gift of colonialism; something that we've internalized so deeply that even after more than seven decades we still can’t seem to snap out of it. Western ideals of beauty, often associated with fair skin, slender figures, and straight hair, marginalize traditional practices and values, resulting in a devaluation of indigenous beauty norms.

Even if it may look like there has been some progress when it comes to inclusivity and representation of the brown skin in digital landscapes. The shift only happened when the West started embracing darker skin tones themselves. The appreciation that should’ve come from within the culture was outsourced once again because whether we admit it or not, subconsciously, we still look up to the West, to some extent, for validation as a result of our post-colonial haze. 

Berlin-based artist Sam Madhu highlights how colonialism influenced the notions of beauty here at home through and aims to reclaim it through her latest series ‘Reincarnations:: Ghosts of a South Asian Past’. Inspired by old colonial-era photographs of Tamil women across India and Sri Lanka, Berlin-based digital artist Sam’s series rebirths ancient beauty traditions in a futuristic rendition of South Asian women.

The dark-skinned women in the artworks are adorned with intricate silver jewellery and the Hyperrealism draws attention to how exquisite dark skin really is.

From using the kollam to symbolize bodies as an entryway into the past to abstract Tamil letters emerging from the skin, Sam uses the body as a metaphor for folklore that leads us into South Asian history. Sam's work is a powerful commentary on the loss of cultural identity in the face of Western influence, one that asks us to contemplate the enduring impact of colonialism on our own notions of beauty and self-expression.

Reincarnations will be exhibited as an immersive installation at Collage, a multi-designer store in Chennai from September 1. 

Follow Sam Madhu here.

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