Bhaskaran’s mixed media masterpiece, ‘Couple’ (2005), finds roots in his artistic fascination with the stodgy and often uncomfortable-looking marriage portraits that are so prevalent in houses all around India. These photographs to the artist appeared loaded with meanings and dramatic tensions – what the couple wants the photograph’s audience (and/or the photographer) to think of them versus what they think of each other; the new phenomenon of posing for a camera versus the traditional male-female power relationship; photography as a relatively new Western invention versus the Indian miniature portrait that dates back centuries.
