Poulomi Basu (born October 1983) is an Indian artist,

documentary photographer Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. It is typically undertaken as professional ph ...

, filmmaker and activist, much of whose work addresses the normalisation of violence against marginalised women. Basu received the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

's Hood Medal for the series ''Blood Speaks'', about the Nepalese practice of

Chhaupadi Chhaupadi ( ) is a form of menstrual taboo which prohibits women and girls from participating in normal family activities while menstruating, as they are considered "impure". Chhaupadi is said to be practiced primarily in the western part of Nep ...

. In 2017, Basu was selected for the Sundance New Frontiers Lab Fellowship. Her photobook ''Centralia'', about the conflict between the Indian state and the Maoist

People's Liberation Guerrilla Army The People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a banned political organisation in India which aims to overthrow the Indian Government through protracted people's war. Background The ...

, was shortlisted for the 2021

Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize is awarded annually by the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and the Photographers' Gallery to a photographer who has made the most significant contribution to the photographic medium in Europe ...

. Her ''Eruptions: a decade of creation'' installation was shown at

Side Gallery Side Gallery is a photography gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, run by Amber Film & Photography Collective. It opened in 1977 as Side Gallery and Cinema with a remit to show humanist photography "both by and commissioned by the group along with wo ...

, Newcastle, UK in 2021/22. In 2023, she received the

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a photography museum and school at 84 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. ICP's photographic collection, reading room, and archives are at Mana Contemporary in Jer ...

Infinity Award for outstanding contribution to "Contemporary Photography and New Media". Art critic Charlotte Jansen wrote in

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

's publication, ''Fifty Pioneers Defining Photography for the Twenty-First Century'', that Basu's work is "beautiful but also apocalyptic, her photographs and films pulsate with psychotropic light".

Early life

Basu was born and raised in Kolkata, India. She has said "I grew up in a home with all kinds of taboos, and it was an extremely violent, patriarchal and misogynistic environment. I saw how these things were related and became interested in exploring the complex web of patriarchy." She majored in sociology then did a master's degree in photojournalism and documentary photography at the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

Work

Basu's work often addresses the normalisation of violence against marginalised women. the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

described Basu as a "visual activist known for her fearless examination of systemic injustices. Her lens focuses on stories that often go ignored or underreported, particularly those of women in isolated communities and conflict zones." Her ''To Conquer Her Land'' series depicts the first female soldiers in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

, on the

India–Pakistan border The India–Pakistan border is the international boundary that separates the nations of the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At its northern end is the Line of Control, which separates Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmi ...

. In Basu's words, "''To Conquer Her Land'' is about new forms of stress – related to combatant life – that has never existed for Indian women before in history." Her work deals with sensitive issues of self image and focuses on women who are striving to redefine their identity. Basu's work pivots around the "intricate issues of conflict, psychological warfare, class, youth, gender, love, peace, the concept of home, an undefined idea of patriotism, and the strength of the mind." ''To Conquer Her Land'' is a fitting title as this work is dedicated to the women who are trying to claim their place not only in the military but also in the eyes of society where gender norms are still harsh towards women. ''Blood Speaks: A Ritual of Exile'' deals with the Nepalese practice of

, which Basu made the work in

Surkhet District Surkhet District (, ) is a district in Karnali Province of mid-western Nepal. Surkhet is one of the ten districts of Karnali located about west of the national capital Kathmandu. The district's area is . It had 288,527 population in 2001 and 350 ...

, in a remote region of Nepal, in 2013, 2014 and 2016. When exhibited, the work includes two screen projections, photographs shown in LED-powered light boxes, a surround-soundscape and an immersive virtual reality installation—"The room deliberately evokes the oppressive environment inhabited by the women".

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

curator, Emma Lewis, speaks of Basu's work saying that ''Centralia'' focuses on the female guerrillas of the

Naxalite–Maoist insurgency The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict between the Indian government and Left-wing terrorism, left-wing extremist groups. The Naxalites are a group of communist groups, who follow Maoist political sentiment and ideology, and c ...

Sean O'Hagan Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer and songwriter who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and for his wor ...

wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' that the book "casts light on an overlooked conflict between the Indian state and the Maoist People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, which is made up of volunteers from a beleaguered indigenous community. Basu moves effortlessly between traditional documentary and a heightened, almost hallucinatory approach that reflects both the brutality of the conflict and the state propaganda that feeds on half-truths and manipulated "facts"." Basu takes cues from "the literary work of William Faulkner, J G Ballard and Arundhati Roy, as well as the dream narratives of David Lynch" ... "in composing Centralia, which is set largely in the state of Chhattisgarh, as well as the states of Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand". Her reason for taking inspiration from these notable figures, in her words, is because "they deal with the darkness that lies ahead." She reflects, "in a way, this project is a prism to explore contemporary India through my own connection to a historical and present series of events. ''Fireflies'' is a multi-layered body of work including photography, moving image, and performance. ''Fireflies'' covers many complex narratives around eco-feminism and gender justice, with grounded ideas of magical realism and science fiction. Alona Pardo, curator of ''

The Barbican Barbican is a type of fortified building. Barbican may also refer to: * Barbican (drink), a brand of malt beverage in Saudi Arabia and the UAE * Barbican Estate, a residential estate in London ** Barbican Centre, an arts centre in London ** Barb ...

'', introduces Basu's work: "''Fireflies'', consists of a series of deeply emotive and powerful images of Poulomi invariably performing for the camera". The project consists of images that Basu intertwined with her mother, underscoring a matrilineal heritage and genealogy that speaks to the violence which is all too often bestowed on women's bodies, highlighting female oppression and the hetero-patriarchal cultural values that are also a shared trauma, and notions of care. Kenneth Dickerman wrote in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' that "Basu's work seeks to turn that paradigm on its head to begin to create a more equitable, favorable and stable world for all". Shyama Laxman wrote in ''Aesthetica Magazine'' that

Other activities

Basu is a co-founder/director of Just Another Photo Festival, begun in 2015, which seeks to democratise access to visual media. She is a visiting lecturer at

University of the Arts London The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of ...

's Visible Justice and collaborative Unit.

Publications

Books of work by Basu

*''Centralia''. Stockport:

Dewi Lewis Dewi Lewis (born Denbigh, Wales, 10 March 1951) is a publisher and curator of photography. Career In 1975, Lewis was the founding director of the Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury Metropolitan Arts Association which operates The Met (arts centre), ...

, 2020. .

Publications with contributions by Basu

*''Hungry Still''.

Quad QUaD, an acronym for QUEST at DASI, was a ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiment at the South Pole. QUEST (Q and U Extragalactic Sub-mm Telescope) was the original name attributed to the bolometer detector instrume ...

Format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

/Slideluck, 2014. . *''A Time To See''. Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust/Impress, 2016. . *''Firecrackers: Female Photographers Now.'' London:

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

, 2017. By Fiona Rogers and Max Houghton. . *''Photography Now: Fifty Pioneers Defining 21st Century Photography''.

/Ilex, 2021. By Charlotte Jansen. . *''Photography – A Feminist History''. Tate, 2021. By Emma Lewis. .

Films

*''Maya: The Birth of a Super Hero'' - Winner, Viborg Animation Festival, Anidox:VR Award for Best Animated Documentary, 2024 *''Maya: The Birth of a Super Hero'' - Sélection Officelle, Compétition Immersive,

Festival De Cannes The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around t ...

, 2024 * ''Maya: The Birth of a Super Hero'' - Grand Jury Award,

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

, 2024 *''Blood Speaks'' - Inter:Active award in competition, CPH:DOX, 2024 *''Maya: The Birth of a Super Hero'' - Special Jury Mention Award,

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, 2023 *''Maya: The Birth of a Super Hero'' – official selection, Venice Production Bridge,

78th Venice International Film Festival The 78th annual Venice Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 2021, at Venice Lido in Italy. This edition marked the festival's return to its full format following the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, COVID ...

, 2021;

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

Games for Change Games for Change (also known as G4C) is a nonprofit organization. The organization provides support, visibility, and shared resources to individuals and organizations using serious games for social change. It also runs the G4C Student Challenge ...

, UN HQ, New York, 2023 *''Fireflies'' *''Blood Speaks'' – released by

Tribeca Film Institute The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) is a non-profit arts organization based in New York City, founded in 2001 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff following the September 11 attacks as a means to revitalize the arts community in lowe ...

Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival The Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) has been held in Kathmandu since 2000. Starting out as a biennial festival, KIMFF turned annual and competitive in 2007. KIMFF typically takes places around 11 December to coincide with the ...

(KIMFF), Nepal, 2018;

Margaret Mead Film Festival The Margaret Mead Film Festival is an annual film festival held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. It is the longest-running, premiere showcase for international documentaries in the United States, encompassing a broad spec ...

American Natural History Museum The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

, New York, USA, October 2018;

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, 2019

Collections

* Victoria and Albert Museum, London, ''Centralia.'' * The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, Special Collections; ''Centralia'' book''.''

Exhibitions

*''A Ritual of Exile: Blood Speaks'', Pearson Building,

Format Festival Format International Photography Festival (stylised as FORMAT) is a biennial photography festival held in Derby, UK that. It was established in 2004 and takes place in March in various venues in Derby including Quad, University of Derby, Derby Muse ...

, Derby, UK, 2017 *''Centralia,'' Photoworks Festival, Brighton, UK, 2020. * ''

2021'',

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established ...

, London, 2021 *''Eruptions: a decade of creation'',

, Newcastle, UK, 2021–22. An immersive installation of VR, film and photographic work from 2009 to 2021. Includes ''Blood Speaks: A Ritual of Exile'', ''Centralia'' and ''To Conquer Her Land''. *''Fireflies'', Autograph ABP, London, 2022.

Awards

*2012: Winner, 2nd place, Foto Visura Grant for ''To Conquer Her Land'' *2012:

Magnum Foundation Magnum Foundation is a non-profit photographic foundation based in New York City. Its mission is to "expands creativity and diversity in documentary photography." History and mission Magnum Foundation was founded in 2007 during the collapse o ...

Social Justice Fellowship *2016: Winner, Magnum Emergency Fund, Magnum Foundation, to continue making ''A Ritual of Exile: Blood Speaks'' *2016: Winner, Magnum Foundation Human Rights Grant, What Works *2017: Winner, FotoEvidence Book Award, New York City, for ''A Ritual of Exile: Blood Speaks'' *2020: Hood Medal,

, Bristol, UK for ''Blood Speaks'' *2020: Louis Roederer Discovery Award,

Rencontres d'Arles The Rencontres d'Arles (formerly called ''Rencontres internationales de la photographie d'Arles'') is an annual summer photography festival founded in 1970 by the Arles photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historian ...

, Arles, France *2020: Winner, Rencontres d'Arles Louis Roederer Discovery Award Jury Prize for ''Centralia'' *2020: Singapore International Photography Festival Book Awards for ''Centralia'' *2020: Winner, CreativeXR programme by Digital Catapult and

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

for ''Blood Speaks: Maya – The Birth of a Superhero'' *2021: Shortlisted,

, London for ''Centralia''; along with Alejandro Cartagena,

Cao Fei Cao Fei ( zh, 曹斐, ; born 1978) is a Chinese multimedia artist born in Guangzhou. Her work, which includes video, performance, and digital media, examines the daily life of Chinese citizens born after the Cultural Revolution. Her work explores ...

, and

Zineb Sedira Zineb Sedira (born April 1, 1963) is a London-based Franco-Algerian feminist photographer and video artist, best known for work exploring the human relationship to geography. Sedira was shortlisted for the 2021 Deutsche Börse Photography Founda ...

*2021: Shortlisted, Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards for ''Centralia'', UK *2022: Winner, Best Experimental Film,

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

qualifying,

Aesthetica Short Film Festival The Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) is an international film festival which takes place annually in York, England, at the beginning of November. Founded in 2011, it is a celebration of independent film from around the world, and an outle ...

, UK, for the film ''Fireflies'' *2023:

Infinity Award for outstanding contribution to Contemporary Photography and New Media *2023: Special Jury Mention Award, New Voices Immersive Competition,

Tribeca Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, USA, for the film ''Maya: The Birth of a Super Hero'' *2024:

Breakthrough 2024,https://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/bafta-unveils-its-2024-bafta-breakthrough-cohort-across-the-uk-us-and-india for the film ''Maya: The Birth of a Super Hero''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Basu, Poulomi 21st-century Indian photographers Alumni of the London College of Communication Indian women photographers Documentary photographers Artists from Kolkata Living people 1983 births Women photojournalists Indian activists Photographers from West Bengal