Lord Vishnu, Darshan

Date2013

MediumInkjet print on Canson Baryta II paper

Credit LineMuseum purchase

DimensionsImage: 48 × 60 in. (121.9 × 152.4 cm) Framed: 60 × 72 in. (152.4 × 182.9 cm)

Object number2020.007.001

Label TextThis image of Lord Vishnu, "the preserver," is from a series of nine large-scale photographs of Hindu deities Sharma titled Darshan. A Sanskrit word meaning "to see and be seen by," the experience of a Darshan is considered reciprocal — a spiritual connection between a deity and devotee.

Having moved to the U.S. from Mumbai to earn her BFA in photography, Sharma felt distanced from the rituals she had grown up with and began re-examining her relationship to her culture after a decade of being away. Challenging the traditional role of her medium, she sought to use the camera to "turn multidimensional memories of sculptures and ornamental paintings of gods into two-dimensional photographs." By re-creating, the concept of a Darshan in a contemporary setting and drawing parallels between the museum and the temple, Sharma asked the viewer to confront and contest the historic notions of preservation and presentation of Hindu deities.

Returning to India to make these images, Sharma carefully selected models and a team of up to thirty-five Indian craftsmen who created props, sets, prosthetics, make-up, costumes, and jewelry to exacting specifications. The images are presented in deep and elaborately embossed hammered brass frame inspired by a temple-like setting.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 23, 2023 - October 29, 2023
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, DEcember 15 - Present

ProvenancePurchased by MCCM from artist.

Status

Not on view

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