There are many generalisations that surround middle class preferences for fashion, taste and design. An exhibition, born out of pan-India research, challenges these misconception by interpreting their home decor choices through a series of photographs.
The exhibition, 'Blind Spot' by W+K Exp, an art initiative of an advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, Delhi, is basically a product of its pan-Indian research project that was conducted between 2011 to 2012.
The idea is to challenge and understand aspirations and aesthetics of middle class who are often stereotyped in the mainstream.
"We wanted to know what exactly drives aesthetic choices of the middle class. For advertising professionals, they are our consumers. The research was done to understand their behaviour and business sense," Sunaina Sainath, head of planning, W+K, Delhi, told IANS, at the inauguration of the exhibition Wednesday.
This led to a qualitative research in which a team of five people, with translators and recruiters, covered 13 cities across the country, such as Madurai, Lucknow, Bhopal, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and others.
"It is often said that a home is the best place to understand your sense of choices. We asked them questions such as why they choose such decor or why did they make such choices," she said.
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By using photography, cultural references and interactive data, the research has zeroed seven contemporary sensibilities -- natural, cute, decent, traditional, royal, jazzy and executive to categorise various items found in every middle class home.
"These are the objects we all have seen in our houses and often tend to ignore them. This exhibition is all about not seeing what is hidden behind the sight," said Sainath.
Photographs of a teddy bear, a fridge or an object like mirror can reveal a lot about one's design choices, she added.
The exhibition is on display till Oct 27 at the Outset India gallery at Lodhi Road.