In a corner of The Aguad, Goa, stands a black velvet female mannequin, on which is draped a metallic bikini-armour — a helmet with bison horns on its head, a curtain of chain mail covering the crotch. Behind it is a large poster showing a model wearing the same costume, with the addition of bat-wings splayed out from her spine.
At the ongoing Prinseps exhibition, Bharat Through the Lens of Bhanu Athaiya, we realise this too is the great artist and costume designer’s creation. But for what project could she have made it? Intrigue dissolves into laughter as curator Brijeshwari Kumar Gohil reveals that Athaiya put the costume together as part of the iconic JVC Onida “devil” ad campaign in 1996.
