“A Time to Play: New Scenes from Acts of Appearance,” an exhibiton by Gauri Gill at James Cohan Gallery, New York

Delhi-based photographer Gauri Gill practises the exploration of collaborative partnerships as a means to blur the line between photographer and subject. For “Acts of Appearance, ” she invited renowned mask-makers of the Kokna and Warli tribes of rural Maharashtra to embark on a collaborative project. Gill drew initial inspiration from the annual Bohada mask festival in Jawhar, where Adivasi indigenous tribal communities enact scenes from Hindu epics and tribal myths, wearing masks personifying their own gods and goddesses. Gill invited two leading proponents of this art, the brothers Subhas and Bhagvan Dharma Kadu, to lead a team of more than thirty artists and volunteers to go beyond the confines of their traditional mask-making and develop a new set of forms. This exhibition showcases the results of their ongoing collaboration with forty new color photographs, many of them made in 2020. 

On view now until 13 November 2021 at James Cohan Gallery, 52 Walker St New York

Photos by Paige Silveria