Pamela Singh

Jaipur Self-Portrait No. 4, 2003

For many years, Pamela Singh worked as a photojournalist in a career that took her to several continents. Her insights into the chaotic reality of everyday life in the world’s crisis spots are also an integral part of her art. At first glance, the images in her photo montages exude an air of calm and tranquility, but they are also embued with a sense of esthetic tension, that is deeply rooted in the subdued but powerful interplay of roles within Indian society. The series Jaipur Self-Portraits shows the photographer herself, emerged in the context of the caste structure which defines the social life of Hindu believers. As a sophisticated modern woman within the microcosm of the village life, she shows her sense of belonging, but remains a stranger: the complete motif of the black-and-white photo is colored, except her skin. Singh’s photo collages are reworked with painting techniques and sparsely decorated with jewelry elements, in a manner reminiscent of the palimpsest technique, known from historical book illustrations.