# Exotic Justoposition Reversing Colonial Power Thru Photography By Michael Bühler-Rose By TrendHead | Published 2009-03-14 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/exotic-photography-reversing-colonial-power-thru-photography-by-michael-bue References: [michaelbuhlerrose](http://www.michaelbuhlerrose.com/) & [humbleartsfoundation.org](http://humbleartsfoundation.org/grant/recipients.html) Exotic Indian scenarios juxtaposing Dutch still life photography with Indian beauties settling in the West. Michael Bühler-Rose is a photographer (born 1980) who lives and works in New York. This brilliant collection of photographs, featured above, are from a [photographic series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/all-within-the-detour) called ‘Constructing The Exotic’ which uses [Dutch still-life tradition](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/african-identity), but his subjects are Indian women and girls settled in the West. Although the lighting and positioning is visually similar to traditional Dutch still-life, these pictures don’t convey a Western colonial power - they almost represent the reversal: The power of Indian settlers the West. Power to the women, good stuff! ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.3/10 - Popularity: 87% | Activity: 63% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) > [Modern](https://www.trendhunter.com/modern) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Reversed Colonial Power:** The use of Dutch still-life tradition in depicting Indian women and girls showcases a potential for reversing traditional colonial power dynamics, offering opportunities for disruption in cultural and artistic spheres. - **Cultural Synthesis:** The synthesis of Dutch still-life and Indian beauty creates an opportunity for cultural synthesis and translation in the fashion industry. - **Subversion of Expectations in Photography:** This subversion of strikingly familiar still-life positioning used in photography creates opportunities for disrupting traditional photographic styles using unconventional subjects. ### Who This Affects Most - **Fashion:** The synthesis of Dutch photographic tradition with Indian beauty creates a disruptive concept applicable to the fashion industry. - **Artistic Photography:** The unconventional use of still-life tradition offers opportunities for disruption within artistic photography. - **Cultural Studies:** The exploration and subversion of traditional cultural representations within this photographic series has wide-reaching implications for cultural studies and research. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Painting-Immersive Photo Exhibits](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/new-ground-exhibition.md) - [Color Photography Exhibitions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/profiles-in-color.md) - [Mirrored Flower Installations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reflecting-diverseness.md) - [Photography Project Series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/still-life-1.md) - [Colonial History Art Exhibitions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/raise-the-roof-building-for-change.md) - [AI-Generated Poetic Photo Series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/emilio-alarcn.md) - [Mid-Century Furniture Exhibitions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/syncretic-voices-exhibition.md) - [Industrial Architecture-Themed Installations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/industrial-archaeology.md) - [Floral-Inspired Sculptural Designs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/flower-power.md)