Cover Story

Art couple,Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher,are on the cover of the June edition of Wallpaper*,the UK magazine for design,interiors,fashion,art and lifestyle. Dressed as a nawab and his begum,Gupta and Kher posed specially for this limited edition cover. The photograph titled,In Another Life,was taken by a photographer friend and the artists have a personal joke about their outfits. “We were asked to wear something quintessentially Indian,” says Gupta.

The idea of distilling an identity as complex as being Indian seemed a bit hilarious to begin with,which is why the couple decided to play the dressing game to the hilt. In a photo-moment that appears surreal but plausible,they decided to wear vintage royal robes against a painted backdrop in Hyderabad while visiting the Charminar Palace. Gupta has on a red Fez and a sherwani offset with pearls,while Kher offers the right complement with vintage bling in a highly ornate red gota-covered skirt. Kher says she loved her garment. “It’s a half-skirt that I put over my jeans and the whole outfit can be worn over your existing clothes,” she chuckles. “Of course,it is a tongue-in-cheek photograph,” she adds.

The photograph can be bought as a limited edition of the cover on eBay for $19.99 (approx Rs 900). Interestingly,the two artists were featured in Wallpaper’s May issue too,in a section called Artist Palette where Gupta whipped up an East Indian Fish Curry,offset against his bartan collection and Kher made a banana split arrangement around her

famous bindis.

Georgina Maddox