Lot 58: Archeology - Arrival at Lancashire

BAIJU PARTHAN (B. 1956)
Archeology - Arrival at Lancashire
signed and dated 'Baiju Parthan 2007; ARCEOLOGY - ARRIVAL AT LANCASHIRE, Acrylic 6ft x 6ft' (on the reverse)
acrylic on canvas
71¼ x 71 3/8 in. (181 x 181.3 cm.)
Painted in 2007

Incorporating iconic imagery and motifs taken from Indian history, Parthan's Archaeology series, attempt to rewrite and contemporize these images by overlaying a deposit of what the artist describes as 'computer code graffiti'.

Based on a photograph downloaded from the internet showing Mahatma Gandhi arriving at Greenfield mills, Lancashire in 1931, Parthan paints over the image with a computer generated code. This code is effectively the same image translated and transformed by particular computer software. Speaking on this work, Parthan adds that for him this process also signifies "the new economy that is spotlighting all that is 'Indian' and transforming whatever is highlighted into consumables in the global market" (in dialogue with the artist).