Priya Kambli
Priya Kambli
Indian, born 1975, active United States
When Priya Kambli moved from India to America in 1993, she could take only what would fit into one suitcase. Her “Suitcase Series” deals with this physical and mental move, and the attendant intellectual editing of snapshots, items, and ultimately memory. Each constructed case deals with a different theme and corresponds to a different hue, incorporating objects and photographs with intricate artisanship.
These memory objects and personal relics reference vintage vernacular objects often produced for the home as well as domestic handiwork. Displayed open, the silk-lined boxes also recall early cased photographs in material and color. In Red, a top is situated above a photograph of her family sewn over with a spiral pattern, mimicking the trajectory of the spinning toy. This act serves symbolically to stitch her memory back together again and also obscure it. Kambli utilizes many objects and items that reference the body or stand for a person or entity (common additions to vernacular photographic items): a family bracelet in Orange; a governmental ID photo paired with a small tin of sindoor (the red pigment applied to the parted hair of a married woman) in Black; and a personnel counter in Black 2. These embellished artworks further allude to the tactile nature of the vernacular—displaying the touch of the artist as well as begging to be touched.
Kambli received her MFA from University of Houston and currently teaches photography at Truman State University, Missouri. She was recently awarded an AIR residency at the Woodstock Center for Photography and a 2004 Fellowship from the Houston Center for Photography.
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