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C.K. Rajan’s collage series Untitled (also called Mild Terrors) juxtaposes newspaper images of man-made landscapes or buildings overlaid with close-up details of glamorous magazine images. Delicate but politically charged, the series responds to the surreal, social and cultural contradictions of economic modernisation in India.

One of the media C.K. Rajan uses to convey his ideas and reflections is collage. Between 1992 and 1996 he developed his own artistic touch, and this was the period when he produced his first collages. The M HKA presented this series in the 2008 exhibition entitled SANTHAL FAMILY. Stellingen ontrent een Indiase sculptuur. This untitled work from 1992 explains the fundamental idea underlying Rajan’s work. The whole thing is formed by the associations between photos collected from various newspapers and magazines. In the course of this enterprise Rajan attempted to seek contrasts. Contrasts which together can nevertheless form a new unity. The form is a reaction to the dominant Western media culture. This materialistic product is discharged unhesitatingly into every type of culture. The content reflects the divide between rich and poor that accompanies this. C.K. Rajan elucidates this fact by using images from his own culture in combination with Western touches. In this way he makes a visual rejoinder to the obvious power of the prevailing artificial culture of standards and values.