Conceptual Photography as Artistic Expression

The workshop is a space to explore the changing nature, through the medium of photography. Binaries between documentary and fiction, new and old media, fantasy and realism, still and moving image have collapsed. The photographer in the contemporary moment is working in this radically different landscape; a new visual culture that calls for multiplicity of photographic forms. Production and consumption of millions of images a day has almost made us immune to its effects. Some argue, this is the ‘death of photography.’ The question is how, then, do we create images in this ‘post-photographic condition’? This workshop will be an exploration into how can photography become a process-oriented medium to observe and explore various theoretical and conceptual frameworks. By engaging with existing modes of photography and actively exploring what the future of the medium holds, we create a space for making art in dialogue with society, politics and culture.

 Chinar Shah
Chinar Shah is an artist, writer, academic, and occasional curator. She runs a home gallery called ‘Home Sweet Home’ in Bangalore. She is a co-editor of Photography in India: From Archives to Contemporary Practice, Bloomsbury, UK. Her work Silenced Ruptures (2012) on the Gujarat riots has been part of a travelling memorial exhibition around India. Her recent work Aravanis (2015) was shown at the Tate Liverpool and subsequently at festivals worldwide, including the Birmingham Photo Festival and Art Bengaluru. Chinar has also been part of many international artist exchange programs. She recently received grants from the prestigious Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation and Pronto- Göteborg Stad Kultur of the city of Gothenburg.
She studied Literature and Cultural Studies at English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad and later did her PGDP in Photography from NID, Ahmedabad. She currently teaches photography and visual arts at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore.

*Click here to apply for the workshop. Selection is limited to 10 to 12 participants*
*The deadline for submission is 15th November*