flesh & wound
since ages, India is constantly having religious conflict between its minorities (Muslim) and the majority (Hindu). This conflict mainly escalated when in 2014 the new government formed which was more right-winged towards the Hindu religion.
since India is a country with various religions and cast leaving together in a democratic way this idea was largely questioned when this government came to power.
Since these two religions co-existed for a long time there are many cultural things that have clashed in the name of religious beliefs and one of them is Beef. Beef being one of the staple food in the Islamic religion is a constant controversy in this country as the Hindu's worships Cow as Godly Mother. so for many years, there are several clashes has happened on this issue. When the new right-wing government came to power the first thing they did was putting a ban on beef sale and export. This rule started creating a lot of mob violence where many Muslims were lynched by self claim cow protector vigilante.
In this work of mine, I invited the local beef butchers to my studio where I shot them with my large format camera by using the wet plate collodion process. After that, before securing the emulsion coating on the glass positive I wiped out the place where their skins were visible and replaced it with real beef meat by placing it behind the glass plate.
by this, I questioned the identity of a particular community by their attire and faceless skin of something which is their choice of food which made their lives in danger in their own homes.
MEDIUM - Wet Plate Collodion Glass Positive (Ambrptype & Raw Meat
SIZE- 8" X 10"