New Delhi: Artist and photographer Raihan Vadra, son of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has said that despite his cooperation with Bikaner House, all 70 photographs from his exhibition were ordered to be removed without explanation.
The controversy erupted after Raihan alleged that the Bikaner House administration ordered the removal of more than 70 photographs from his solo exhibition, ‘No Idea Is Final’, shortly before it was scheduled to open.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Raihan Vadra said, “I think what happened was wrong. I fully cooperated with Bikaner House. I read its policy on political content and selected my photographs accordingly. We did not put up political slogans, and there were not many photographs of political leaders,” he said.
He added that initially he was asked to remove some photographs. “I told them we would cooperate. I said they could remove four or five photographs if necessary, provided they gave us a reason,” he said.
“However, we were not given any explanation. Instead, they asked us to remove all 70 photographs. I believe this was wrong,” Raihan told IANS.
He further said that public institutions like Bikaner House have a responsibility to uphold and protect freedom of expression of artists, gallery owners and others. He added that he was told that the photographs were against their policy.
“The photographs are also on my Instagram page. If you look at them, most feature ordinary people. They are at protests, but they are ordinary people. I also suggested that they should make their policies clearer and clarify who would decide what constitutes political content,” he said.
“Most art is political, and if you don’t agree then you should not implement such policies. I wasn’t given a specific reason,” he added.
When asked whether he supported the protestors, he said, “Yes, I attended the protest as both a participant and an artist. I support it both as an artist and as an individual.”
The exhibition, ‘No Idea Is Final’, was previewed Wednesday and was scheduled to open Thursday, running until Sunday
In an Instagram post Wednesday, Raihan said the Bikaner House management had asked him to remove most of the artworks from the exhibition.
“The Bikaner House Management forced me to remove the bulk of the artworks displayed in my show ‘No Idea Is Final,’ which opened this evening at 7 p.m. The photos were of the youth protests in Delhi. Apparently, the content is ‘objectionable’. They also directed me to remove two photos of the Tiranga. I refused. I will not take down a picture of the Indian flag,” Vadra said.
