The Image Complex: Photography, Vision, and Belief in South Asia

We live with and through images. For nearly two centuries, they have shaped our relationship to truth, belief, evidence, and each other — and we have, mostly, trusted them.

The Image Complex is an seven-session online lecture series that explores how that trust was built, how it operates, and what it means to inhabit a world where it is coming undone. Moving from the colonial archives of the 19th century to contemporary image cultures, the series traces photography’s evolving role as an instrument of power, a container of memory, a medium of community, and — increasingly — a site of suspicion.

Grounded in photographic histories and practices across South Asia, these sessions bring together scholars, photographers, editors, curators, and archivists to ask: Who have photographs historically served, and who decides what they are permitted to reveal and exclude? How do images circulate through newspapers, family albums, archives, exhibitions, messaging platforms, and social media, accumulating new meanings with every encounter? And what happens when images themselves become unstable communicators — automated, manipulated, remixed, and untethered from their subjects — reshaping our relationship to them?

Enrolment

This series approaches themes, ideas, practices, and perspectives in ways that speak to learners across backgrounds, regardless of prior knowledge of the subjects. You can begin viewing the lectures by clicking the ‘Start Course’ button above and registering. If you’ve previously registered for a course on Impart, please login using the same credentials.

About the Facilitators

Aastha D is a critic, educator, and curator working across architecture, culture, and art. She is the founding editor of Proseterity, an independent international literary arts magazine. She has a background in architecture and an MS in Critical, Curatorial, Conceptual Practices from Columbia University GSAPP, New York.

Impart is an online platform encouraging greater engagement with South Asia’s art and cultural histories. We build inclusive and free resources for people to better access these histories, and believe that the story of art across the region should be presented in a comprehensive and nuanced way. Our work includes an Encyclopedia of Art, online learning resources, a digital publication, and collaborative projects.

How to Navigate This Platform

• We recommend viewing the lectures in sequential order. To watch the lectures with subtitles, click on the CC icon at the bottom-right, in the control bar of the video player. Each lecture is accompanied by supplementary readings recommended by the presenter and guest speakers, and available under the ‘Materials’ tab.
• Using your login credentials, you should be able to re-enter the lecture series at any point through your device, and continue from where you left off.
• To receive a Certificate of Attendance for this series, please mark each lecture as complete after viewing it. Once all seven lectures have been marked complete, you will be able to download the certificate.
• At any time, you’re welcome to join the Discussion Forum by navigating to the top-right of your screen. Here, you can introduce yourself and engage with fellow learners.