Contemporary Indian photographers in a Paris show- I

Dominique Charlet & Fabien Charuau are co-curators of a photography show in Paris, involving 10 talented contemporary artists from India at Gallery Duboys. Here is a quick introduction to the three of them:

Dhruv Dhawan is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer living in Dubai. His work is distributed internationally and has been nominated for awards at Tribeca and Hot Docs. His first feature film, 'From Dust', was recognized by the United Nations for its relevance to human rights and issues of governance in the wake of natural disasters.

When he set out to capture people sleeping on the street, he knew he was dealing with sensitive subject matter. "Although these pictures look beautiful, the reality of them is not," The artist says. "A good night's sleep is a universal human need and the reason I have called this project, 'Mumbai: The city that never sleeps' is because these people cannot get a good night's sleep with trucks running by, bright lights in their face, rats gnawing at their feet."

Mahesh Shantaram lives and works in Bangalore. His primary area of interest lies in urban reality rooted in the here and now. He is working on a long-term photo book project that documents modern Bangalore as it goes through interesting times. Following a long hiatus away from home, he returned only to find himself having to resettle in a city that evoked memories, while at the same time, contradicted them. His photos are diary notes from a study of change observed in various neighborhoods of Bangalore city.

Neil Chowdhury's photographic and digital media work explores the relationships between individuals, their societies, and environments in different cultures. Currently, he is working on a project exploring his Indian heritage, entitled 'Waking from Dreams of India'. He is an assistant professor and director of the photography program at Cazenovia College, Cazenovia, New York.