About the Artist

Ouso Chakola

Kerala-based artist Ouso Chakola (b. 1980) became interested in pre-digital alternative printing processes while studying Photography in Melbourne. Extending his interest, Chakola instituted Obscura DAC, a mobile photo-printing lab combining his two passions - making photography accessible to all and reviving forgotten printing techniques. 

His works overlay images from the colonial archives, pop culture, personal albums, and photographs. With a complex integration of histories, Chakola reflects on the post-colonial identities of the subcontinent and especially of his birthplace, Kerala. Through photography, collage, and printmaking, Chakola embraces the potential of art to be a catalyst for reviving histories beyond their association with the colonial narrative.