Shifting the focus

Q. Can you tell us about your subjects and what inspired you to shoot them?I have been working on this series for about eight years. The interesting thing about shooting over a period of time is that the work takes on many layers, making it richer. Initially, I had a sense of what I was gravitating towards and that's what I would look for in all the spaces I visited. I am fascinated by the imagined worlds and the make-believe characters that inhabit them. Every viewer resonates with something different in an image and carries back a different story. I am interested in these stories and all the stories that are born when the viewer sees them.Q. One of the defining images from your exhibition depicts a burnt poster of Raj Kapoor-Nargis's Awaara. Cinema, film studios, abandoned ruins and the transitory nature of fame recur. What are you commenting on here?Many of us grew up watching R.K. films. To me, the posters have happy childhood memories attached to them. The burnt posters and negatives, abandoned ruins and even the abandoned wedding photo is reminiscent of the end of an era or, maybe, the end of a story. The transient nature of these spaces and the temporality of it all forms the basis of this work. I feel there is a fine line that separates us and holds us together as people, living in a city or a community. I want to reveal these layers that form familiar grounds between us..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Q. While your pictures are a reminder of the fleeting nature of time, the act of photographing these render them immortal...I see the act of photographing these stories more as an attempt to record an emotion felt at the time. Maybe a bit like holding on to memory. MEMORY OF TIME: Photographs in the ongoing Transients show traverse the ruins of abandoned spaces. Q. How did the leap from being in front of the camera to wielding it happen?I have been in front of the camera since I was 17. So, camera and photography in some ways were always around me. I was always interested in the arts and the visual medium. I started modelling right after school. After 19 years of a fulfilling career, I wanted to move on to something more creative, and photography happened naturally.(Transients is on display at Art Musings, Mumbai, till February 10)Published By: Akriti AnandPublished On: Jan 31, 2020--- ENDS ---

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Shifting the focus

Former supermodel Sheetal Mallar has made tangible her interest in stories with Transients, a photography exhibition that probes the ever-shifting nature of space and time. Excerpts from an interview.

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