Territory of the Visual: Photographic Materialities and the Persistence of Indo-Muslim Architecture*

Abstract

This paper seeks to give philosophical expression to the relation between the production of space in nineteenth century photographs of Indo-Mughal architectural monuments and the legitimisation of British colonial presence in India. The medium of photography is considered particularly significant within the historical context of nineteenth century India, not only on account of its technological premise, but also because its introduction was clearly in association with European contact. Using a case study approach, this paper critically examines the production and circulation of photographic albums at a moment of historical rupture, the post-1857 rebellion against the English East India Trading Company. Although existing scholarship highlights the specific context of this period, critics have largely ignored the status of these photographs as aesthetic objects and/or testimony. To address this lack, the paper considers the intersection of affect and materiality in the assemblages of photographic albums, and also covers the dissemination of singular photographic views. Drawing upon Spinoza, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, and Jane Bennett, it surveys select themes of identity and spatial politics and the material site of photographic albums. The albums’ function as a medium of transfer is evaluated across material, temporal, technological, cultural, and civilizational boundaries.