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Brothel #8

Date
2001, printed 2007
photographed in
Calcutta, West Bengal state, India, Asia
Classification
Photographs
Current Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 14 3/4 x 22 in. (37.5 x 55.9 cm)
sheet: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm)
Credit Line
St. Louis Friends of Photography
Rights
© Zana Briski
Object Number
8:2008
NOTES
In this haunting and mysterious image, Zana Briski depicts the Hindu religious ceremony of Holi. It is being celebrated by prostitutes in the courtyard of their brothel in Calcutta, India. Colored powders fill the air, sticking to the clothing and skin of the women. In 1997, Briski began a series of photographic works on the prostitutes of Calcutta's red light district, as well as the illegitimate children who were raised by them. This work led up to her Academy-award winning documentary Born into Brothels (2005).

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