Amrita Sher-Gil’s Self-Portraits Get A Modern Makeover In This Instagram Series

For artists across the centuries self portraits have been a form of expression and introspection that provide later generations with a sense of their most personal thoughts. Six months ago when childhood friends Pakhi Sen and Samira Bose were discussing their the topic they agreed that Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was a shared favourite matched only by her Indian contemporary, Amrita Sher-Gil.

Born to a Hungarian opera singer mother and Sikh aristocrat father in Budapest, Sher-Gil’s life was adventurous from the very start. She studied impressionism in Europe but later returned to India to learn Mughal, Bengal and Pahari techniques. It was this melange of styles has always captivated Sen and Bose, “We realised that Sher-Gil was bold and inspiring in her self portraits. Despite the passage of time, she remains relevant,” says Sen.

To prove this point, the decided to work on an Instagram project called Re-printing Amrita Sher-gil: a Photoperformance Project which recreated her most famous self portraits in a modern context. The series features Sen, Bose and four of their friends dressed as Sher-Gil and juxtaposed with the original art.

Aside from some lighting adjustments the photos weren’t retouched in any way, they wanted to capture the same raw imagery that Sher-Gil so embodied. They also found inspiration in the works of Iranian photographer Azadeh Akhlaghi who is known for recreating Iran’s notorious death scenes as well as the Indian artist Pushpamala N who uses her own body as a mould for different characters. They also brought a more ethnic feel to the shoot by using Indian textiles like Banarasi saris, hajj scarves and kantha embroidery as the backdrops.

Though there are only six images at the moment, the duo hope to explore the concept further and delve into the life of amazing and other inspirational artists. Projects like theirs are a wonderful way to make images of the past feel accessible to the digital generation and we can’t wait to see more.