Seeking Treasure in India

For all it’s chaos and frenzy, our glimpses of India were filled with small human moments, pockets of colour and everywhere, a sense of accidental beauty. In Kolkata, I had it in mind to recreate the huge blank canvases of Rothko, looking for bold blocks of single tone. The light, created by an ever-thickening layer of smog over the city, picked out sudden splashes of red tarpaulin or decadent old blue gates.

At each of our stops from Delhi to Chennai, the camera found random collisions of life, movement and place: readymade cameos and still life, ripe for the picking. The pictures from this trip seems to awaken the missing senses, the intense taste and noise, the smell and feel of an ancient, teeming land.

It’s a cliché but it’s truly a photographers’ paradise. No need for epic landmarks or even a guidebook. Around every corner is a surprise. Hand painted signs, dusty roads and all humanity squeezed into close contact. Then there are the cows and dogs, lonely cats, chickens and many close encounters with crows. The people too, loved to be photographed, always going somewhere, on bicycles, tuk tuks and often bare feet. Nobody ran away or hid. We were welcomed and encouraged as friends.

You can see the treasures from our trip on the handloom page here, and the blockprint page here.