Inner and Outer Lives: The Untold Stories of Women by Homai Vyarawalla

Curated by Sabeena Gadihoke and supported by the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, Inner and Outer Lives: The Many Worlds of Homai Vyarawalla was an exhibition of photographs by India’s pioneering female photojournalist held at the Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam in New Delhi. While Vyarawalla is known for her iconic portraits of eminent (male) politicians and public figures at the cusp of Indian independence, this exhibition presented a glimpse into the photographer’s formative years. Her work at that time focused on women and their intersections with space, institutional life and the urban every day, especially in the premiere women’s institutions of Mumbai and Delhi. Presented here are some striking photographs from the exhibition, along with an excerpt from Gadihoke’s curatorial text which dwells on the institutional settings within which Vyarawalla captured these images. Gadihoke writes:

“Founded in 1857, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art carried the legacy of British colonialism in its art practice. Charles Gerrard was the last British Director of the school during the time that Vyarawalla was a student. He took special interest in the newly introduced curriculum of Commercial Art that offered training in printing, photography, lithography, book binding, poster design and layouts besides traditional courses in painting and sculpture, clay modeling, screen design and architecture... Lady Irwin College, the first college to teach home science in Delhi, was founded in 1932 with Hannah Sen, as its Director. ‘Home Science’ sought to create modern, efficient citizens out of women who first were expected to become accomplished wives and mothers. Hobbies and sports, meant to discipline the mind and body, were to eventually enrich family life. But purpose is inevitably contoured by the inner-lives of the practitioners. The many aspirations of women seep into the photographs of Homai Vyarawalla who shot them being groomed as managers of domestic spaces in specially designed ‘practice cottages’ that replicated the home.”

To read more about Homai Vyarawalla, please search for “The First Women of the Institution: Homai Vyarawalla’s Photographs of Early Women’s Colleges in India.”

All images from the exhibition Inner and Outer Lives: The Many Worlds of Homai Vyarawalla, Homai Vyarawalla Archive/ The Alkazi Collection of Photography.

Click on the image to view the album