IFP hosts exhibition of pictures from a bygone era
The HINDU- February 26, 2015
“Can you imagine a time when the wrist watch was the ultimate symbol of wealth of a family, and even more so if it was adorning the wrist of a woman member of the household? Or wondered about what defined sartorial elegance in those times or why it was that folks posing in front of a commissioned photographer made sure that they had the Murphy radio in the backdrop?
An exhibition of family portraitures shot in studios across Tamil Nadu hosted on Beach Road by French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP) Social Science Department, in collaboration with Pondy ART, holds a mirror on not just the dress sense of a bygone era but also provide a compelling narration on social mores and local heritage.”READ THE FULL ARTICLE
“The French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP) in collaboration with Pondy ART is holding an exhibition of photographs taken between 1880 and 1980 that showcase the rich social and cultural history of Tamil people. The exhibition ‘Heritage of Family: Tamil Studio Portraiture (1880 – 1980)’ will display photographs collected from various parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry by a team of French and Indian researchers from the institute’s social science department led by Zoe Headley. The collections are part of an ongoing project tracing the history of Tamil studio photography and investigating the visual rhetoric of family portraiture in south India.” 
The S.T.A.R.S collective and the IFP joined forces with PondyART to give the public the opportunity to enjoy a sample of the photographs so far collected, observe the styles Tamil Nadu photography studios utilised for the printed images and reinforce the importance of preserving this visual record of local heritage. The exhibition coincided with the Pondicherry Heritage Festival. 
“A series of portraits collected from across Tamil Nadu will render a retelling of history and a reflection of local heritage at an exhibition opening here on Wednesday.