Time and Time Again

• Bhupen Khakhar at the Sayaji Baug Garden (Baroda, Gujarat), 1983
  © Jyoti Bhatt. Courtesy Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bangalore
• A courtyard in Banasthali village (Rajasthan), 1972
  © Jyoti Bhatt. Courtesy Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bangalore
• Ranjan Patel (Baroda, Gujarat), c. 1958
  © Jyoti Bhatt. Courtesy Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bangalore
• Children with mehndi on their hands (Rajasthan), 1972
  © Jyoti Bhatt. Courtesy Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bangalore
• Jyoti Bhatt Ardhnarishwar (Venice, Italy), 1966
  © Jyoti Bhatt. Courtesy Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bangalore

On February 18, 2023, the MAP Museum of Art & Photography in Bangalore, India, opened its doors with a rich programme of exhibitions and events. Among them is the showcase ‘Time and Time Again’ with photographs by Jyoti Bhatt, on view until July 25, 2023.

Jyoti Bhatt (b. 1934) is best known for his work as a modernist painter and printmaker. In the 1960s, however, the artist also began to use the medium of photography in order to document rural Indian culture.

Featuring more than 160 photographs, along with a constellation of archival materials and contact sheets, ‘Time and Time Again’ retraces Bhatt's evolution as a photographer throughout the second half of the 20th century. The comprehensive presentation pays homage to the breadth of the artist’s oeuvre, with works ranging from his studies of rural communities and portraits of fellow artists, all the way to his experiments with multiple exposures and fragmented mirror images, which opened up a more abstract form of expression. His images of regional traditions include impressions captured in India’s coastal state of Gujarat – haveli townhouses, painted temples, body tattoos, pottery and embroidery – as well as his well-known photographs of rangoli art.

‘Time and Time Again’ was curated by Nathaniel Gaskell, Director of the MAP Academy.
Gaskell is also the editor of the eponymous, fully illustrated photo book that accompanies the exhibition, published by the MAP.