Seasoned photographer Rohit Chawla’s latest title, Portrait of An Artist, offers an unguarded look at modern Indian artists. Fresh from the book launch at the Jaipur Literature Festival, he shares its journey
T Venkanna in his studio in Hyderabad. Pics Courtesy/Rohit Chawla, mapin, KNMA
The collection seems like a detailed insight into the names that define modern Indian art. When did you begin?
It started about 10 years ago. Photography is a way of trespassing into the lives of people that interest me. In 2003, I started an art series recreating the works of Raja Ravi Varma, Gustav Klimt, and Frida Kahlo. Soon after, I felt the need to meet the artists whose work intrigued me. The book, backed by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) and Mapin, offered me a chance to be pleasantly surprised.
Rohit Chawla
Artists can be reticent or reclusive, unlike performers. What were the cues you were looking for?
This idea of the self-effacing artist is a bit of a non sequitur. When you agree to be photographed, you agree to step into my world. There is a part of you that wishes to be playful, and that is what I tap into.
SH Raza; the photograph in the book also features his final works
There is also a sanctity to doing things quietly. The best photographs are often captured in moments bereft of artifice. But, I am also mindful that being natural is the most difficult pose to keep. Hence, my attempt necessitates that their studio life becomes apparent through these photographs. I always recall Piyush Pandey’s immortal lines ‘Har ghar kucch kehta hai/ ke isme kaun rehta hai’. An artist’s studio is reflective of what they create.
Atul Dodiya; the artist plays old Hindi songs in his working space
Could you elaborate on that..
Perhaps, I should write a book on the things I photographed in the studio (laughs). Each of them has a predisposition to a particular object. For instance, Rekha Rodwittiya collects dolls. Mithu [Sen] does the same. Those are the intimate parts that I might reveal in another book.
Is that moment of magic instinctive, or do you build towards it?
It is a bit of both. Instinct is knowing when to press that shutter, or recognising the moment the artist is themselves. But that instinct has been honed over 30 years.
Bharti Kher; Chawla preferred to photograph the artists in natural light
Some of the names on the book include icons like MF Husain and FN Souza…
In this book, we have also included some artists who I did not necessarily photograph, such as Husain, Souza, or Amrita Sher-Gil among others. We thought it was important to have their voices as markers in the history of Indian art. We were lucky to have writer-curator Kishore Singh who was at DAG, and had interacted with them, to share interviews.
Is there an artist among these many figures who surprised you?
It was the artist that I photographed last — T Venkanna. I came back happy after the shoot. He comes from a very traditional family in Hyderabad, but his work is mired in the erotic. The idea of a man living with his family, his parents and brother, and creating such brave and provocative work was refreshing.
Subodh Gupta among his works; the artist calls it a place where he is at his ‘happiest’
Are you travelling further with the book?
My next book will be launched at The Jaipur Literature Festival next year. It is the commemorative book on the authors I have been photographing at the festival for the last 20 years. Whether it is artists, authors, or chefs, the joy lies in the 10 minutes of connection I make. I live for that.
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