Traction - a photography show "9th Aug 2008 to 31st Aug 2008"

When, in recent years, the national and international art fraternity was raving about Indian Art, it tended to focus largely on accomplishments in oil, acrylic and watercolor. The occasional sculpture or installation notwithstanding, the emphasis for artists and collectors alike lay solidly with the medium of painting.

Fortunately, the scope is broadening. One of the most exciting additions to the art spectrum is photography. The days when photography was equated with wedding portraits or snapshots made during family events are clearly behind us. Following the trend in the West, India has started to realize that photography is an art form in its own right and that it is blessed with some outstanding photographers, some of whom are represented at this exhibition of Gallery Art and Design, a gallery specially set up to promote photographic art.

The 6 photographers exhibited differ greatly in their individual style and choice of subject matter but have one thing in common: their desire to depict the many faces of India, in all its facets.

Master of panoramic photography Amit Pasricha has a way of putting across the vastness of the country in a manner that feels strangely intimate. Whether seen from afar or up close, his large photographic works invariably evoke a sense of belonging.

Joginder Singh is an architect turned photographer and it shows. He has a wonderfully keen eye for the unusual in structure, color, material, light and the combination of it all. He sees what others may not see and then has the patience to wait for the right moment to turn it into a still-life for eternity.

Manoj Kumar Jain’s still-lives are a tribute to everyman’s home. The radio, the vessels, the bric-a-brac – they inhabit centuries of tales that do not need a voice to be told because they are an inseparable part of us.

As a documentary photographer Prashant Panjiar is closely in touch with people of all ranks and stations and usually in crises situations. Perhaps because of that his work is often replete with warmth and compassion as is evident from the works on display here.

Compassion is certainly a word that applies to Dinesh Khanna’s photographs. All published in his book ‘Living Faith’ these photographs are not only a strong tribute to Khanna’s renowned eye for colour but more in particular for his ability to capture the intensely personal moments of the people portrayed in a dignified manner.

Colour, light, composition – Ramona Singh’s photographs of monasteries in Ladakh and palaces in Rajasthan have it all, and in the right doses. But besides that, there is lots more: enigma, romance, devotion. One thing is certain – these photographs won’t leave anyone unmoved.

It is due to efforts by artists such as those whose works are shown here that Indian photography has achieved the traction that is catapulting it into the world of Art with a capital A.