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Signature style

Of photographs by Amit Mehra till July 12

PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO

CAPTURING THE ELEMENTS Through Amit Mehra's lens

`His Signatures' is a tribute to God. Sand, stone, water and light are captured in such an intimate manner that it doesn't matter what the subject is. It seems photographer Amit Mehra has managed to capture the true spirit of the elements. So a colourful fossil is no longer a fossil but colours on canvas faded with time. Or the graphic black and white picture could be that of the stem of a palm leaf or on the other hand could just be a play of light. It doesn't matter, they are still beautiful without explanation, and maybe more romantic thus.

The exhibition comprises work that is very personal. Otherwise Amit Mehra is a well published (including Time, Condenast and Elle among many others) advertising photographer who has shot for clients like Coke, Samsung, Ford and LG. "That's my bread and butter, that's where the money comes from, this is where it goes," says Mehra.

During the lecture organised to coincide with the opening of the show, the artist shared precious trade secrets. Stuff like: One camera per holi, the cost of the equipment is a critical and decisive issue, and the era of film is over. Replying to a question posed by a photography enthusiast still nostalgic about film, the photographer said. "It took me three days of waking up at two in the morning, to figure out the perfect exposure for the hotel lobby, the huge chandelier and the faint Taj Mahal in the background. Today all you have to do is click. And then work ten minutes on Photoshop."

Mehra also talked about the growing interest in photography as an art form. "I recently have had buyers who own Husains and Amrita Sher-Gils, and also young investment bankers." While that was good news, the photographer also pointed out that what the world wants to see from India are images of Indian culture and diversity. But pictures of festivals are not easy. Mehra explained how gullal would be thrown at you not in handfuls but in bagfuls. How you could have to revisit a festival for years to get that one picture, after all it's only one day in the year, and you can never re-choreograph the excitement.

Mehra is currently working on two books — one on Indian Faces and the other on the Contemporary Indian Design and Spaces. "Thanks to technology, every Tom, Dick and Harry is a photographer today. What makes a guy different is his eye," he says. Dorothea Lange, the famous twentieth century photographer, had once remarked, "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera." Mehra, it would seem, has found proof to substantiate this.

`His Signatures' is on till July 12 at Apparao Infinity, Taj Connemara.

MEERA MOHANTY

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