Talks
Tattoos & Taboos
Moranngam Khaling, Viren Swami, Sanjukta Basu, Prachi Gupta
The conversation looks to examine body art as a living tradition, and will unpack the changing nature of contemporary tattoo culture in India, from a subversive act to a socially acceptable form of expression. In addition, this discussion looks at the cultural representation and appropriation of tribal/folk motifs, designs and patterns in the mainstream tattoo culture.
This session features Moranngam Khaling (the founder of Headhunters Ink and Godna Gram – The Tatoo Village), Viren Swami (Professor of Social Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University) and Sanjukta Basu (photographer of the Women with Tattoos series) in conversation with Prachi Gupta (Archivist at MAP, Bangalore)
This talk is in collaboration with Bangalore International Centre, BIC.
Moranngam Khaling
Tattoo Artist, Independent Researcher and Revivalist
Moranngam Khaling (popularly known by his artist name Mo Naga) is an Independent Researcher and Revivalist of traditional art & craft and the design culture of North East India.Mo Naga did his Bachelor of Design from NIFT(National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad) and is the Founder and practicing scholar at the Headhunters Ink in Guwahati, which focusses on the study and preservation of traditional Naga Tattoos.
He also founded Godna Gram- the tattoo village in 2016 in New Delhi. Godna Gram is an initiative for the study, preservation and promotion of the rich tattoo tradition of India, conceptualised as a professional platform for indigenous tattoo artists from diverse regions of India to train and share traditional knowledge and skills with the rest of the world.
Mo Naga conducts workshops and seminars to spread awareness about the significance of research and study of our culture and traditions. He is a world renowned tattoo artist specialising in traditional and neo-traditional art. He collaborates and exchanges knowledge with world leading anthropologists and historians from Universities to individual researchers in India. He also guides students for their projects and he continues to train young talents in the field of non-traditional art and design culture.
Viren Swami
Professor of Social Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University
Viren Swami is Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University and Director of the Centre for Psychological Research at Perdana University. His research is focused on body image, body art, and mental health. He is the author of over two hundred academic papers and three books, including Attraction Explained (now in its second edition) and The Psychology of Physical Attraction.
Sanjukta Basu
Writer, photographer, lawyer and feminist scholar
Sanjukta Basu is a writer, photographer, lawyer, feminist scholar. She has worked as Communications Consultant for non profits working on women rights, held a legal practice, and has been a columnist for various print and online media forums including Firstpost, HuffPost India and The Wire, among others.
She is presently with National Herald as an Editorial Consultant. She writes on women, politics, minority rights, and social issues. She is also pursuing a PhD on Women and Gender Studies.
The auto-ethnographic doctoral research deals with gender based trolling of Indian women, radical right politics and women’s political participation.
Prachi Gupta (Moderator)
Archivist, Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bangalore
Prachi Gupta (Moderator) is an Archivist at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bangalore. She handles the photography collection that ranges from the 1850s to the current time with a number of one lakh plus objects. The position entails tasks related to archiving, cataloguing, research, and exhibitions.
Prior to this , she was freelancing in the field of graphic design, fashion illustration and photography. She completed her Masters in Photography Design from the National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar in 2018 and has been living and working in Bangalore since. Her artistic interest lies in history, archives and performance, which she continues to explore through her work.
