Sunil Gupta, Untitled #8 from the series The New Pre-Raphaelites, 2008/2023
Hales is thrilled to announce that Contemporary Art Society, UK has acquired two works from Gupta's 2008 series The New Pre-Raphaelites. The works have been presented to Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, UK.
The New Pre-Raphaelites is a project centered on LGBTQ+ rights in India. Living in India at the time, Gupta was a key figure in the arts scene, making work that explored and documented queer lives. This body of photographs were made in response to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a 19th century law criminalising homosexuality. The starting point for each work is a Pre-Raphaelite painting, drawing on the movement's use of classical iconography to make a rebellious point about burgeoning sexuality.
Over a career spanning more than four decades, Gupta has maintained a visionary approach to photography, producing bodies of work that are pioneering in their social and political commentary. The artist's diasporic experience of multiple cultures informs a practice dedicated to themes of race, migration and queer identity - his own lived experience a point of departure for photographic projects, born from a desire to see himself and others like him represented in art history.
July 30, 2024
