Olympe ramakrishna’s silk portraits narrate the evolving stories of urban middle class women

“I’ve displayed these portraits under high ceilings too, but I think this is the lowest one,” Says franco-Indian visual artist olympe Ramakrishna, Referring to the Low Ceiling at Allianance Française of Hyderabad. Her Installation, Women of Urban India, Currently Showing at the French Institute, Features 12 Oil Portraits on Silk, Suspended From The Ceiling Like Sareing on Rooftop Terraces.

Stories of Contemporary women

A portrait on Silk from the exhibition | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The series portrays women we encounter always day – in neighBourhoods, offices, on travels, and among friends. Each Image Captures the Essence of India’s Urban Middle-Class Women: Resilient, Constantly Adapting, and Balancing the delicate tug between tradition and modernity.

As a researcher study femininity and women’s identity, olympe first Arrived in Bengaluru in 2010 from Normandie in France, Where She was Struck by a New Generation of URBAN MDDLESS WOMEN. The changes she observed, she notes, went far beyond clothing choices. From crafting their own life paths to balance multiple roles, these women navigate two worlds – one shaped by global influences, the other rooted in tradition.

Pointing to one of the portraits, she reflects on the generational shift: the difference between this woman, her mother, her mother, and her grandmother is vast, sometising she says is far less pronounced in Evely Generations of women in her own family have LED larGely similar lives.

Saris and Silk

Portraits on Silk from the exhibition | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The artist first painted the women – some neighbors, friends, and two of her husband’s causins – on canvas. She then photographed the works, printed them onto dupion silk, and suspended the portraits from the ceiling, mimicking the gentle sway of saris drying on Rooftops. The idea was inspired by events watching familys gather on Bengaluru’s terrarace —Cildren Playing, GrandParents Chatting, and Birds Returning to the park, as freshely driddhly dridden ware collected.

Having Growing Up Around Silk – Ironing Wedding Dresses for Her Designer Father, John Francois – The Fabric Felt Like a Natural Medium for Olympe’s installation. The project, which began two years ago, Debooked in Bengaluru in November 2023, and has Since Since Travelled to Puducherry, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Paris. Next, She Plans to Explore the women of kerala and tamil nadu through a large woven tapestry.

Women of Urban India by Olympe Ramakrishna on Display at Alliance Francaise Hyderabad Till June 15