Photography Now

"As children, most of us spent a large amount of time getting acquainted with our imagined realities. We developed grand vocabularies around these alternate places and people and narratives, and at times, even invited our friends in to explore these intimate spaces with us. I suppose in some ways I never stopped developing stories from that very place. Of course, my narratives have matured (at least I would hope so!) and are deeply influenced by my many lived experiences traversing borders, or rather, living among them. So many of us who live along these lines (either by choice or force) do go missing or disappear at times, just to re-emerge later. I am fascinated by those who — yes, dare to journey across the borders they once built for themselves. It takes courage to do so, to leave what you know in order to better understand what you don’t. “Sea Change” begins to explore the narratives around this very migration — one that is as much physical as it is psychological and/or emotional."

Work by Hajra Waheed
Interview by Rosalyn D'Mello | ArtInfo 

As the venerable Ebrahim Alkazi himself says in the Foreword: “Indian Photographic studios developed their own karkhanas (artists’ ateliers and workshops) much in the manner of the traditional Mughal and regional schools of painting. They adopted particular styles and devised distinctive provincial traits and palettes. Some catered to royal patrons whose custom set them distinctly apart; others found a steady lucrative business in serving the needs of the burgeoning and prosperous mercantile and professional classes. With its fantastic painted backdrops of verdant landscapes, royal gardens, rearing stallions, tempestuous oceans and secret boudoirs, this unique mode of photography passed into the accepted aesthetic traditions of Indian life and has survived as one of its most delightful rituals.”

Photo courtesy: The Alkazi Collection

Article by Ranvir Shah | The Hindu

"In his personal work, Bharat Sikka offers a unique brand of fashion photography, a kind of “fashion reporting” where the environment takes center stage and the model must instead adapt to it. Its beauty is one of contrast, between two worlds that join in the sensuality of being."

Images By Bharat Sikka, Article by Séverine Morel on LaLettreDeLaPhotographie