BENGALURU — Members of several ‘shrouded’ and ‘mysterious’ communities across India have issued a collective statement of gratitude this week, thanking the urban art circuit for finally documenting their intergenerational poverty in a stunning 127-print grayscale exhibition.

The exhibition, titled with a series of evocative nouns, features communities such as the Musahars—traditionally known as ‘rat eaters’—and the coal miners of Jharia. While the subjects remain located in the same geographic and economic margins they have occupied since the 1950s, they noted that they feel significantly more ‘seen’ now that their portraits are being auctioned at Christie’s in Paris.

“It’s a weight off our shoulders,” said one coal miner from Jharia, who has worked 18-hour shifts in the pits for three decades and was recently informed his likeness had been praised for its ‘raw, gritty texture’ by a critic in an air-conditioned hall 2,000 kilometers away. “All these years I thought I was just inhaling toxic dust to survive, but it turns out I was participating in a ‘nuanced dialogue regarding the fragility of the human condition.’ It makes the lung disease much more metaphorical.”

Curators at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) noted that the ‘mystery’ surrounding these communities—often caused by a total absence of paved roads, schools, or government record-keeping—provides the perfect lighting for high-end digital sensors.

“By spending weeks living with these people, the artist is able to bridge the gap between those who have everything and those who have nothing, provided the latter look dignified in a 24x36 frame,” said a spokesperson for the Documentation Unit. “The goal is to open a door for a closed mind, though not necessarily to open a bank account for a closed-off village.”

When asked if the ‘act of witness’ would result in any changes to the labor conditions of the professional mourners or salt farmers depicted, officials confirmed that the photographs have already achieved their primary objective of being ‘searing’ and ‘thought-provoking.’

“We have successfully captured the dignity in the dust,” the spokesperson added. “Now that the dust has been properly aestheticized, we can return to the more important work of ensuring the gallery’s wine list is as well-curated as the suffering on the walls.”