Gezicht op de Muhafiz Khan-moskee in Ahmedabad before 1866

This is Thomas Biggs’ photograph of the Muhafiz Khan Mosque in Ahmedabad. The Mosque, set back from the road, and shrouded by trees, looms large through Biggs’ choice of a close mid-shot, despite being diminished by the framing device of the album page. Biggs uses tonal contrast, and a receding orthogonal road, to draw the eye of the viewer. The composition of this image highlights the interplay between architecture and nature, and, at the same time, between objectivity and artistic representation. The image is a semiotic sign, conveying cultural and social narratives of the period in which it was created. Biggs’ work destabilizes any fixed notions about the Mosque itself. It acts as a reflection on representation, as well as an exploration into seeing.