Adding colour to life is more than a cliché for Dimple Negi, a 24 year old from Uttarakhand. This young illustrator, who considers photos to be the windows to the past, infuses life into vintage black and white pictures from Indian and world history, by adding colour to them.
But why choose to embellish history? Dimple started the project in 2011 when she realized that figures in black and white pictures from decades past seem distant and static, leaving viewers unable to relate to a time so far away.
Adding a dash of colour, she believed, would lessen the distance. After all, the people who lived centuries ago experienced the same colourful world as we do. It would make the subjects and accompanying time-period feel more visceral and relatable.
Look through Negi’s collection, and you’ll find yourself appreciating the once black-and-white photos in a new and personal way; with contrast, shades and tints of colour added in, the people in the pictures are warm-blooded, they talk, laugh, and pose just as you would do. It’s almost like time travel.
You can see the entire series here, and for more on Negi’s artwork. follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Featured image source: Buzzfeed India
Written by Shikha Pandey
