Harvard Art Museums > 2008.235: I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"I Was Not Waving But Drowning II (Atul Bhalla) , 2008.235,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 19, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/330038. This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2008.235 People Atul Bhalla, Indian (New Delhi, India born 1964) Title I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Classification Photographs Work Type photograph series Date 2005 Places Creation Place: South Asia, India, Delhi Culture Indian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/330038 Physical Descriptions Medium Digital pigment photograph face-mounted to Plexiglas Dimensions each H. 45.5 × W. 30.2 cm (17 15/16 × 11 7/8 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: "Atul Bhalla 5/5" Provenance Recorded Ownership History Atul Bhalla (2005-2008, New Delhi, India), sold [through Sepia Gallery, New York]; to Harvard Art Museums, 2008. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Purchase through the generosity of Jose M. Soriano Copyright © Atul Bhalla Accession Year 2008 Object Number 2008.235 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description This series consists of 14 color photographs that depict the artist, Atul Bhalla, slowly submerging himself in the Yamuna River in Delhi. The photographs are vertical in format and intended to be viewed in a linear series which shows the progression of the central figure into the water. The color palette of the series is warm, with a combination of Bhalla's flesh, the calm water surface, which mirrors a bright sky, Bhalla, and a hazy green line of trees on the bank in the background. The soft quality of the trees and the reflections in the water contrast with the sharply defined contours of the artist's portrait. These light-filled images appear to almost glow on their own, an effect that is likely enhanced by the refracting light passing through the plexiglass face mounting. Exhibition History Re-View: S231 (Islamic rotation: 6) I was not Waving but Drowning, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 12/03/2010 - 04/02/2011 Water Stories: river goddesses, ancestral rites, and climate crisis, Radcliffe Institute Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery, 09/18/2023 - 12/16/2023 Related Works 2008.235.1 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.2 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.3 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.4 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.5 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.6 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.7 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.8 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.9 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.10 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.11 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.12 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.13 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs 2008.235.14 Atul Bhalla I Was Not Waving But Drowning II Photographs Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
