By addressing simultaneously issues of race and sexuality, Exiles challenged limited notions of identity then prevalent in the international art world. Channel Four subsequently commissioned a short film, Indian Postcard (1988), which addressed the themes of Exiles through a musical narrative, involving men in different cities (Bombay, New Delhi), who do not actually meet.

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In "Pretended" Family Relationships (1988), a multimedia work incorporating both black and white and color photographs, large text panels, and audio commentary, Gupta explored the complexities of gay male and lesbian relationships, while also suggesting the necessity of political action. The passage of Clause 28 by the British Parliament, which restricted positive representations of same-sex relationships, caused Gupta to emphasize political themes more strongly than in his earlier pieces.

Each of the individual pieces in "Pretended" Family Relationships consist of three components: a large color photograph of a same-sex couple (on the left); a central text panel, with excerpts from poetry by his then-partner, Stephen Dodd; and a black and white photograph of protests against Clause 28.

In contrast to Ten Years On, Gupta did not care if the individuals shown as couples actually were life partners. Even in the heated political climate caused by the passage of Clause 28, Gupta chose not to idealize same-sex partnerships. For example, displayed next to a photo of an interracial couple on the Thames Embankment, the text--"I call you my love though you are not my love and it breaks my heart to tell you"--reveals the ambiguities and complexities of the relationship shown to us. While some pieces do suggest loving commitment, others deal with street cruising and unfulfilled longing.

Trespass Series

In an extended series of mural-size works, created in the early 1990s, Gupta explored the intersections or "trespasses" of multiple social and personal factors, including the collective histories of different cultures, economic agendas, political propaganda, race, sexuality, and health status, among other elements. Utilizing digital technology, Gupta combined his own photographs (both newly taken and pre-existing ones), archival images, and ads and other popular source material.

In 1992-93, Gupta undertook Trespass I for a commission for the Triumph of Empire exhibition (intended as a counterpoint to the quincentenary of the discovery of America). In response to the theme of empire, Gupta developed the concept of strangers in an alien land, focused specifically upon the circumstances of South Asian immigrants in the newly unified European empire. Considering Germany to be the heart of the New Europe, Gupta decided to undertake the project in Berlin.

In the eight panels composing Trespass I, Gupta incorporated a wide variety of images, including historical photographs of Nazi Germany; views of war monuments, art galleries, and other buildings in contemporary Germany; self-portraits (clothed and nude), as well as portraits of his British partner; photographs of unidentified South Asians; and advertisements. The visually provocative combination of images suggests multiple interactions among diverse cultural, economic, and historical referents. Furthermore, boundaries between the personal and political are blurred through the juxtaposition of images of Gupta and his partner with indications of Nazi authority and modern capitalism.

The second installment of the series, Trespass 2, was created in 1993, in response to a commission from NGBK, Berlin (Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende, New Society for Pictorial Arts) for an exhibition entitled They Call It Love. The ten panels explore how Gupta's partnership with one man was affected, and ultimately destroyed, by a third man, who initially came into their household simply to remodel the kitchen (seen as background of many of the personal photographs in the series).

Large portraits of Gupta (mostly nude), as well as separate photographs of his long-term partner and the third man emphasize the personal dimensions of the series, although they are not organized in terms of a sequential narrative. By juxtaposing these portraits with a wide range of pre-existing images--color photos of food, Mogul miniatures, Indian billboards, a photograph of his grandfather's army regiment, newspaper headlines, soft gay porn--Gupta eloquently reveals how the supposedly personal space of the home can become a battleground for diverse racial and cultural perspectives.