- A one-of-a-kind artist's memoir that documents his long and creative
association with Indian artists, blending traditional miniature painting
techniques with digital photography - An impassioned look at the way the
coronavirus lockdowns and their aftermath have impacted artist and
artisan communities in Rajasthan, India - Featuring more than 200
images, including an extensive collection of strikingly original
artworks produced by the artist's studio Karkhana takes us on a
meandering journey through the Rajasthani city of Udaipur as we follow
American artist Waswo X. Waswo, a 20-year resident of India, through a
typical day of collaborations with a variety of Indian artists. From
miniature painters such as R. Vijay and Dalpat Jingar, to the
third-generation photo hand-colorist Rajesh Soni, to the phenomenally
skilled painter of golden borders, Shankar Kumawat, we are treated to an
intimate look behind the scenes of Waswo's extended network of
co-creators, as well as the photography studio he uses in the outlying
village of Varda. Waswo and his team weave visual narratives that blend
vintage miniature painting techniques with digital photography, the past
with the present, and a self-effacing humour with existential angst.
Karkhana is a word that literally means 'factory' in Hindi, but has
lineage to the historical painting workshops of Persia. This book
explores the continuance of this system of mutual artistic collaboration
within a contemporized Indian community, and the manner in which Waswo's
unlikely team has come into the contemporary art market.
