What Makes an Image Indian? The Vernacular Design of Matchboxes

India’s seemingly kitschy, contemporary visual culture is a result of a multicultural history. Its visual culture is transitioning into a more digitally influenced language as a result of globalization. Matchbox labels have represented various points in India’s history by drawing from cultural, political and social changes. A collection of these old labels will tell the viewer a story about India’s history. However, the focus of these communicative matchbox labels has shifted. This research aims at analyzing, deconstructing and creating Indian Matchbox labels in order to experiment with cultivating a visual language of labels that can engage in current and contemporary narratives of a changing India. It aims at contemporizing the themes on these labels in order to reflect socio-political change and their capacity to tell stories and raise dialogue. The labels on these matchboxes draw from several sources, from socio-political movements to the flora and fauna of India. Comparing the labels produced during India’s early years of Independence with those from the last decade, this paper aims to understand how Indian matchbox labels can be used as lens to explore a complex visual language. The research has chosen to focus on matchboxes as they are accessible, well documented and have been used for an array of purposes over history. Matchboxes as opposed to posters, pamphlets and other forms of printed media have been the most financially accessible printed product, hence making the content presented on them an exploitable form of communication.