2024

Death Over Indignity was inspired by two pivotal events in 2020: the murder of George Floyd in the U.S. and the rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Hathras, India. These incidents revealed a stark hypocrisy within Indian society regarding the acknowledgement of caste discrimination, as many condemned racial injustice abroad while ignoring the deeply entrenched caste system at home.
As a member of the oppressed caste herself, Umbhoray uses newspaper archives as the primary source to inform her series of self-portraits, each one drawn from headlines reporting caste-based violence. These Screen-printed portraits offer a powerful reflection on the persistent discrimination faced by Dalit communities in the 21st century.
The project is also organized into thematic zines evoking the raw immediacy of print journalism,  each focusing on a specific facet of caste oppression: Dalit students, men, women, and the broader history of social reform. Through this post-digital methodology, Umbhoray captures the lived reality of her community while positioning her work as a tool for global awareness. With the Indian diaspora carrying the caste system across borders, Death Over Indignity aims to spark a deeper understanding of caste discrimination around the world.

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screenprints, fine art photography, printmaking, photography