Twenty months after the pandemic forced him to put on hold his mid-career retrospective, photographer Rohit Chawla pulled out all the stops with an exhibition that mixes art, design and portraiture
“I can’t get away from the banality of everyday documentation. The digital paradigm is increasingly about the staged image that a professional photographer creates from scratch, much like the artist of the past,” he says on a call from Delhi. “Instead of taking the picture I see, I go and create the image I want.”
His frank-speak translates into highly-conceptual frames: from telling portraits of famous personalities to fine art and fashion photographs. There is a suggestive one where a lone tree dwarfs actor Nafisa Ali – to portray loss – in his 1994 tribute series to Vanguard designer Rohit Khosla, or a rectangular box that frames the leaders in his thoughts. Different Thinking Chain.
Now, 70 such design-based photographs, curated from their 40-year journey, are included in a new exhibition. Topic design eye, it is being held at furniture brand Spin’s 8,000 sq ft experience store in New Delhi. Chawla says the space complements her design aesthetic and helps it reach new audiences beyond the usual crowd of galleries.
Chawla started with photography in his teens when he bought a Canon AE-1 camera from the brother of photographer Raghu Rai. Her first picture, shot at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in 1981, is also a part of the show. “I have always liked the symmetry of form. A certain graphic minimalism and an interplay with space define my style; It hasn’t changed to this day,” says Chawla, who spent two decades in advertising, including a long stint at J. Walter Thompson, before leaning toward editorial photography.
The show also marks the launch of DesignEdit, a platform curated by him in association with Spin. “Social media has democratized design, and India is going through a design revolution of sorts. The idea is to throw a spotlight on all areas of design through events, exhibitions and talks,” says Chawla, who plans to travel to Goa and Puducherry with it. he’s too eager to go again cool portrait, his mid-career retrospective which was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here, he picks six photographs that cut through art, design, and portraiture.
Naseeruddin Shah
The actor’s portrait was part of a series by Chawla for Tehelka in 2013. “Photoshop was not used at all. Instead, we built a box set with fiberglass crows attached to the ceiling by wire. The set had a deep tunnel-like feel and to bring out the contrast, I would pull strings of birds to create a sense of movement and drama. Maybe, I was inspired by Hitchcock birds,” he laughs. “The most important aspect of being a photographer is that there are no happy coincidences. Every aspect has been planned and I have learned this discipline through advertising.”
Atul Dodiya
“He is one of my favorite artists and design is a strong element in everything he does,” says Chawla. “I went into his studio with the obvious idea of making a diptych, but in a way it seemed like a seamless, single image.” He achieved a feat by using the props available in the studio.
amy tanu
Having photographed 300 of the world’s greatest writers, Chawla considers Tan “the most impeccably dressed”. The painting, an icon of his style, was created at the 2018 Jaipur Literature Festival. “She Embraces the Japanese Designer [Issey] Miyake in full elegance, and his signature pleated fabric added the graphic texture and geometry I crave in my images. ,
ai weiwei
In 2016, Chawla traveled with one-mindedness to the Greek island of Lesbos—with a Chinese artist—to recreate the haunting image of three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi, whose dead body washed up on a beach. “My editor Arun Puri was not sure if he would agree but I was very confident. The sun was down and I only got a minute to take the shot. This picture soon went viral. “It focused the world’s attention on flagging back [reportage of the] The refugee crisis in the mainstream media. So, it served the purpose. Political art only makes sense if it is not confined to the incestuous vanity projects at most art biennials.”
Robert De Niro
Chawla, who shuffled between Delhi and Goa, met the American actor-producer in sunny conditions. “We went to drive in a Mini Cooper and it was the stuff of my dreams. His laughter, his mole, the way he closes his hands… They are such important parts of his personality and I wanted to highlight them,” says the photographer, who used four images to do justice to his portrait. This design grid was planned with. “This is the only picture I have on the wall of my house.”
Vikram Seth
Chawla conceptualized the image in 2013, after the reticent author (and his own) reacted angrily to the then Supreme Court ruling upholding Section 377, the law criminalizing homosexuality. “I reached his house at 7 in the morning and he had just woken up. His hair was scattered. He was going to fix it to be presentable, but I managed to convince him to shoot that way. Therefore, we shot some images with directional window lighting that highlights imperfections more harshly. When I shared the picture with him, he called to say he was not comfortable with it and that his mom thought he looked like a badass. He came to my house in the evening and we shot fresh. When he saw the newly manicured images, he realized that the first image worked better. At a time when the country hadn’t come out of the closet, it was incredibly brave of her to agree to cover this shoot. India Today,
design eye f. is onRome from November 20 to December 5 rocker Experience Store, Chhatarpur, New Delhi. design Edit Dialogues will be on spin on November 28 at 2 PM.
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