FRIDA KAHLO — FREE DA! THE HOMAGE

FRIDA KAHLO — FREE DA! THE HOMAGE is Rohit Chawla’s photographic response to one of the twentieth century’s most recognisable and uncompromising artists. Inspired by Kahlo’s self-portraits, Chawla reconstructed and reinterpreted selected compositions using contemporary Indian women as his subjects. The project deliberately moves beyond straightforward imitation. Kahlo’s Mexican dress, jewellery, flowers and unmistakable visual codes are combined with Indian fabrics, styling and contemporary personalities, creating photographs that acknowledge the originals while becoming independent images in their own right. Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee created and adapted costumes for the series, bringing an Indo-Western sensibility to Kahlo’s distinctive sartorial world. Among the women photographed were Neha Dhupia, Lisa Haydon, Tishani Doshi, Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Mithu Sen and Tara Roy. Sets, jewellery, costumes and props were physically constructed rather than digitally manufactured, reflecting Chawla’s interest in staged photography and his insistence on creating the image in front of the camera. The series later formed part of The Inspired Frame, bringing Chawla’s tributes to Frida Kahlo, Gustav Klimt, Raja Ravi Varma and historical miniature painting into a broader examination of how painting can be translated into the photographic medium.