"For most of its later medieval and modern history, it was India’s fate to be on the receiving end of cultural influence – and cultural dictation – from other civilizations. But for a full millennium before then, from about 200 BC to 1200 AD, India was a massive and confident exporter of its own civilization in all its forms." - William Dalrymple
The photographs exhibited in this show record the first stage of the travels and research for my new project, The Golden Road, which aims to record the artistic and cultural achievements of ancient India and show how their influence diffused out over first Asia and then the rest of the world. This first glimpse shows my travels around India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; future shows will extend the project around the rest of South East Asia. From the gorgeous Bodhisattvas of Gandhara through the Kushan and Gupta masterpieces of northern India to the great Chalukya temples of Karnataka, the Pallava sculptures of Tamil Nadu and the stupas of Sri Lanka, In Search of Ancient India explores one of the world’s greatest civilizations at its most creative and self-confident.
