Rahee Punyashloka | Birsa Munda Edict

Rahee Punyashloka
Birsa Munda Edict, 2023
Serigraphy on Modigliani Bianco 260 GSM paper
11.7 x 16.5 inches
Signed. Limited Edition of 30.

Printed under the close supervision of artist Rahee Punyashloka, this limited edition print is individually numbered and signed by the artist in pencil and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. 

To be a "Munda" continues to be a slur in my region. It is often used as a phrase to refer to someone who is only capable of doing menial labour because they are incapable of complex intellectual thoughts. This phrase functions as an apt index of how the Mundas and the Adivasi community is broadly seen in India. The legacy of this gaze emerges from deeply colonialist and Brahmanical notions which have systemically organized themselves to caricature, limit, and exploit the indigenous populations in this country. Birsa Munda was foundational in the development of my own political praxis as a young child obsessed with superheroes. For me, Birsa seemed nothing short of a superhero who almost brought the mighty Empire to its knees. But the everyday lexicon referring to a "Munda" as anything but a supremely intelligent tactician and heroic figure gave birth to an uncomfortable dissonance in my head. All counter-hegemonic awareness I have gained since then is indebted to Birsa, my first superhero. Here he is pictured in an "edict" adorned with ornamentation and embellishments that were reserved only for royalty during the colonial rule, providing, I hope, a much more historically true representation of him than we have managed to have thus far.

Prints are shipped unframed and rolled.