Design Ashram, Kozhikode, is hosting Archeo Logical Camera, a photographic exhibition by Mohamed A that examines the relationship between archaeology, photography, and memory. Curated as a project by Aazhi Archives with Riyas Komu as Artistic Director, the exhibition opened on January 22, 2026, and will remain on view until February 6, 2026.
The exhibition was inaugurated by K. Krishnaraj, Officer, Pazhassiraja Archaeological Museum, who highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in making archaeology more accessible to wider audiences.
Archeo Logical Camera challenges the conventional use of photography in archaeology, where images are often treated as supplementary documentation. Instead, the exhibition positions photographs as artefacts in their own right—carriers of time, memory, interpretation, and absence. Through this lens, visitors are encouraged to reconsider how archaeological knowledge is produced and understood.
Drawing from Mohamed A’s long-term engagement with archaeological sites and practices, the works explore what lies within and beyond the photographic frame—textures, traces, silences, and gestures that shape our understanding of the past. The exhibition also reflects on the role of the photographer, examining the parallels between photographic and archaeological methods of observing, recording, and interpreting fragments of history.
Rather than adopting a strictly documentary approach, the photographs move between scientific observation and poetic inquiry, blurring the boundary between record and reflection. This perspective presents archaeology not only as a technical discipline but as a human engagement with time, continuity, and imagination.
The exhibition received special attention during a visit by NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who viewed the works while in Kerala. Her visit added a symbolic dimension to the exhibition, linking explorations of space with the exploration of layered human histories on Earth.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mohamed A said the project was an attempt to view photographs as more than documents. “I wanted to see photographs as objects that carry time, memory, and absence. Archaeology fascinates me because it involves both discovery and imagination,” he said.
Presented by Aazhi Archives, a platform focused on cultural memory and visual history, Archeo Logical Camera finds an apt venue in Design Ashram, known for facilitating dialogue between art, design, and culture. The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on how the past is continually reinterpreted through images and ways of seeing.
