Empirical Study on the Artistic Elements of Statues Erected During the British Period in the Chennai City 1800 to 1935 with Reference to their Ideological Perception

Abstract

This study critically examines the British-era statues erected in Chennai prior to the Indian independence, focusing on their role as instruments of colonial propaganda. Placed strategically in open public spaces, these statues were more than commemorative monuments; they served as visual tools for asserting imperial dominance and creating public perception. Using a qualitative approach, the study involves interviews with experts such as historians, museum curators and sculptors, and in-depth visual content analysis of the selected statues, and the study focuses on how spatial placement, elements, and proportional techniques were strategically used to communicate power, authority, and cultural superiority. Analysing the signs and messages present in the statues design shows how artists provided support to the ideas of colonization. This research helps understand how visual culture in colonial city planning was used as a tool to assert imperial dominance and the results highlights the lasting effects of colonial imaginary and provide ideas for making public spaces more inclusive in postcolonial cities like Chennai. newlineKeywords: Visual Culture, Public Space Communication, British-era Statues, Colonial Propaganda, Post-Colonial Urban Space, Sculptors, Visual Rhetoric newline