DPhil Student
St Edmund Hall
Thesis (working title): Photographs to Promptographs: Understanding the role of AI in transforming Indian Devotional and Folk Art
Research Interests: Generative AI-Art, Hindu Calendar/Bazaar Art, Indo-futurism, Text-to-Image models, Promptography, Indian folk and ritualistic art, Visual Media, Digital ethnography
Research Outline: A key element of my research is understanding how generative AI shapes “visual piety”— a concept exploring how devotional images influence religious sentiment and how they are perceived as objects of worship. Indian devotional art, particularly in forms like Hindu calendar art which is also called as Bazaar (aka market) art, as well as Indian comic books like ACK (amar chitra katha) uses images of gods and mythological scenes to invoke a sense of piety and cultural belonging. With AI entering this realm, we observe a shift in how these images are created and consumed. Through the theme of “lives of Indian images,” I will be exploring how these visuals live beyond their creation, transforming as they circulate in society.
Education:
MA in Material and Visual Culture, UCL
PG Diploma in Comparative Mythology, Mumbai University
PG Diploma in Folklore and Culture Studies, IGNOU
Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering, Cochin University
Contact: meera.pattaruveettil@seh.ox.ac.uk
