28 February,2011 06:07 AM IST | | Dhvani Solani
Commercial photographers break away from the confines of controlled studio environments to make room for creative expression in an annual photography exhibition. We get four of them to reveal the stories behind the images; stories that range from unfulfilled desires to imagined Utopias
A 'typical' day sees them play by the rules and adhere to guidelines, working with fixed models in controlled environments. But what happens when a few of the country's best commercial photographers break free from the confines of the real world and allow their imaginations to run riot? What happens when the photographer allows his joys, disappointments, hopes, dreams and quiet longing to seep into the frame? What happens when the fa ade is dropped and the artifice abandoned? Quite simply, Exhibit A.
Organised by the Photographers' Guild of India (PGI), and now in its tenth year, the exhibition will see participation from established photographers alongside emerging talent (read: assistant photographers and photography students). The primary purpose is to promote the fine arts. We got our paws on four photographs and cajoled the photographers behind them to share their agony and ecstasy with us.
Ethereal 2 Ashita Ganatra
"This is a quest to freeze my dreams. Composed of fragments of creatures, monuments, and places imagined by me, it is a mystical world that I want to see, and this is the only way to get there. The surreal portraits make for a journey that I see myself in." -- Ashita Ganatra (winner, Prix De La Photographie Paris: one of Europe's most prestigious photography competitions)
Stallion Aneesh Bhasin
"I was in Slovenia (Europe) when a friend tweeted saying that I must check out the stallions in the region. At the risk of missing my flight, I drove down to see the stallions. Born black, these stallions actually get whiter as they age." -- Aneesh Bhasin (most likely to see his work in a travel magazine)
A Lover Riddhibrata Burman
"Lee is a beautiful model based in New York. We were in a little house in a village and were having a great day. This photograph is my attempt to capture the strength of a woman, while exploring an aspect of her femininity. In that moment, I wanted a certain amount of sensual freedom, which was prohibited, and so it could only be expressed through this picture. Put simply, I wanted to sleep with her, but couldn't." -- R Burman (most likely to see his work on the cover of a Bollywood gossip magazine)
Kushal Ruia Ladder
"If one were to look at this photograph from a distance, the balconies would look like a ladder," says Kushal, whose other photograph, Fear, is a top-angle shot taken from a high-rise, forming a diptych with this one. -- Kushal Ruia (Kushal is also the creative head of animation at Amar Chitra Katha)
Till March 4
At Gallery BMB, Queens Mansion, Fort.
Call 617157571
