Pushpamala N, born in 1956 in Bangalore, studied at Bangalore University, and then grasped nuances of Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda, where she completed her Bachelors and later her Masters degree She is the recipient of the National Award (1984); the gold medal at the Sixth New Delhi Triennale (1986); the Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship for residency (1992-93); and the Senior Fellowship, Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development (1995-97) Her work has been widely exhibited internationally Among her selective participations are `New Indian Art`, Manchester Art Gallery, UK (2002); `Ways of Resisting`, Sahmat, New Delhi (2002); `Century City` Tate Modern, London, UK (2001); `Moving Ideas` Hoopoe Curatorial, Montreal and Vancouver, Canada (2001); Open Circle International Workshop, Mumbai (2000) She is known for incorporating popular culture into her creations She adopts popular personas and ironic roles to examine issues related to gender, place and history The ironic aspect is particularly sharp in her photo-based installations and projections