Morbid Beauty: Tipu’s Tiger
In the 18th century, England set its sights on colonizing India. India was prosperous in its own ways and would enter the modern age on its own time but England viewed it differently that they were backwater savages that needed to be forced into the present and to grovel thankfully for it. Obviously, this did not sit well with many of the country’s inhabitants leading to deep seeded resentment at the time (and still felt today somewhat). Nothing illustrates this more than the hand-cranked automaton known as Tipu’s Tiger. The machine depicts a tiger on top of a British soldier biting his neck as the soldier lies with a look of horror on his face. That’s not the end of it, the soldier moves; well his arm does in a flailing motion making the hand uncover the mouth where a metal pipe is and allows air to come out making a dull wailing sound as if the man is screaming.
Continue reading →