Thursday, October 15, 2009

‘Pan India – a shared habitat’ by Prashant Panjiar

Prashant Panjiar is known for his carefully composed photographs. A self-taught photographer, he has a thoroughly meticulous approach towards work, placing him among the country’s very best. Ordinary people, who lead ordinary lives yet show extraordinary spirit, have invariably been at the core of his practice. This trait is evident in his new show at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

His series of works ‘Pan India – a shared habitat’ presents a wide array of rural vistas, cityscapes, and various habitats, forming the ubiquitous crosshatch of rampant urbanization. Culled from his vast body of work, it raises pointed queries about notions of development. The images are in panoramic format he started employing in 2000. He felt that the format could be organized around a theme of living habitats, and thus started exploring it.

He explains, “It expresses concerns on the new Indian growth and construction and how people live (with it).” Curator of the show Sanjeev Saith elaborates that Prashant Panjiar is a photographer ‘not in a hurry’ and adds, “He approaches the subject matter with great empathy. All the elements in his picture share a harmonious relationship. A viewer is moved rather than just getting impressed.”

To put it in the words of this passionate photographer, his work has become non-dramatic over the years as he has opted out of ‘in-your-face’ photography. Instead he prefers to take a pause, step back a bit, and let the action get over to shoot the after-effect.

Regarding the content and compositions of his series ‘Pan India – a shared habitat’, he states, “It’s more introspective in nature. Most of the images are rather simple.” This de-emphasizing of drama has been a marked evolution in his work, underling how life carries on even as the scenery collapses around us.But what if habitats begin to appear incidental? How does one then emphasize the importance of a private living space?"

According to him, “With all of modernity around us, if we are able to maintain a semblance of our individual identities, community, family, and therefore ownership – is what will keep India still very special.” According to him, the pictures are supposed to be reflective in nature, and not corrective, since he is not an activist.

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