Cybernetic Spirits | Cosmos 4

The Arrival of Vasco Da Gama

The Arrival of Vasco da Gama (2014) is a photographic recreation that deconstructs an 1898 orientalist ‘history’ painting by Portuguese painter Jose Veloso Salgado -Vasco da Gama perante o Samorim- which depicts Vasco da Gama’s first meeting with the Zamorin of Calicut. Having discovered a direct sea route to India from Europe, Gama disembarked on the shores of Calicut in May 1498. His meeting with the Zamorin to wrestle trading privileges was unsuccessful as the ruler, who was unimpressed by the goods Gama brought, refused to conclude a trading pact with him. Created 400 years after the actual event, the painting celebrates Gama’s arrival in Calicut. It depicts him addressing the Zamorin’s court; a nobly attired European visitor surrounded by the imagined decadence of an oriental court. The setting reflects Western Europe’s conception, continuing well into the 20th century, of the savagery of medieval non-European societies as those ruled by despotic kings and awaiting Europe’s civilizing touch.

For The Arrival of Vasco da Gama Pushpamala plays her first male role as the celebrated navigator, recreating the original painting as a photographic tableau with artist friends as supporting cast. Elements of the painted sets made for the shoot and written texts form an installation like a theatre museum around the photograph, unpeeling the work. The artist turns Salgado’s conception on its head, returning what is a work of imagination that has over time gained a degree of historical legitimacy, to the space of fiction and masquerade.

Motherland Series

These performance photographs are recreations of the historical depictions of Mother India from the 19c to the present, created  with elaborate sets and costumes. The artist plays the role of Mother India in each. They are produced, directed and performed by the artist with the help of a photographer and friends

The works based on historical representations of Mother India-  some shot as far back as 2005- comprise an ongoing investigation of the idea of the nation state. The images continue Pushpamala’s interest in referencing archival material, popular culture, and ethnography, venturing further into unexplored areas such as epigraphy, archeology, and eugenics. The artist’s body literally becomes the body politic, tongue-in-cheek and imbued with humor, while she re-enacts the various personifications of India throughout history. 

Motherland Series

Motherland series

Motherland Series

Good Habits series

Pushpamala’s interest in anthropometry, the science of measuring bodies, led her to the disgraced pseudo-science of eugenics, or of improving genes, which was popular worldwide in the early 20th Century. Based on racial and class superiority, eugenics came to influence government policies and was later taken to extremes in Nazi Germany. 

The videos from the series “Good Habits,” refer to popular medical charts and demonstration films, in which the artist performs ‘operations’ on models of the human body, commenting on government programs of health and education.

Good Habits series

Pushpamala’s interest in anthropometry, the science of measuring bodies, led her to the disgraced pseudo-science of eugenics, or of improving genes, which was popular worldwide in the early 20th Century. Based on racial and class superiority, eugenics came to influence government policies and was later taken to extremes in Nazi Germany. 

The videos from the series “Good Habits,” refer to popular medical charts and demonstration films, in which the artist performs ‘operations’ on models of the human body, commenting on government programs of health and education.

Good Habits series

Pushpamala’s interest in anthropometry, the science of measuring bodies, led her to the disgraced pseudo-science of eugenics, or of improving genes, which was popular worldwide in the early 20th Century. Based on racial and class superiority, eugenics came to influence government policies and was later taken to extremes in Nazi Germany. 

The videos from the series “Good Habits,” refer to popular medical charts and demonstration films, in which the artist performs ‘operations’ on models of the human body, commenting on government programs of health and education.

The artist, helped by friends, performs various acts with medical models. The actions are like rituals, performed with the panache of magic tricks on stage. The films are part of a long term project using multiple media in which the artist interrogates the idea of the nation state. Here she looks at the notorious histories of anthropology, ethnography and eugenics that ironically define modernizing government projects with the dream of building an ideal community. The artist, by performing in the works, places herself at the centre of inquiry, playing the role of agent as well as effect of history.

The work explores the complexities of human migration across borders, both geographic and temporal. It delves into the way individuals and communities move, carrying with them ideas, beliefs, and identities that evolve and adapt as they cross boundaries. This investigation into migration extends beyond the physical act of movement, addressing the broader concept of interconnectedness and the blending of ideologies. The work contemplates how cultural exchange leads to the assimilation of new ideas, challenging and expanding the available options within society.
At the same time, the work pays homage to the rich traditions of Indian and Persian miniature paintings. Drawing inspiration from these intricate art forms, the piece explores not only their aesthetic qualities but also their historical narratives of conquest, empire, and cultural fusion. Through the lens of miniature painting, the work addresses how visual storytelling can encapsulate the broader human experience of migration, assimilation, and identity transformation.

The emotion of rejecting a system that outwardly appears philosophically serene and liberating yet causes profound harm is rooted in the sense of betrayal and disillusionment. Often, systems that promise freedom and idealism are structured in a way that imposes invisible or subtle controls, stifling individual aspirations. The deeper tragedy lies in the contradiction between the system's rhetoric of liberation and the reality of oppression. Those who engage in struggles for freedom often find that their efforts are undermined, their sacrifices minimized, and their goals distorted.
A serene façade can mask underlying mechanisms of control, exploitation, and manipulation, creating an illusion of liberation while perpetuating inequality and power imbalances. The emotional toll this takes is significant, as it not only insults the individual’s aspirations but devalues the collective struggle for justice and equality.