Prize Moment for Serial Shooter

People are her subjects and through their images,Gauri Gill weaves a narrative in each of her frames whether it is of rural migrants in Rajasthan or a South Asian immigrant living in the US.

Photographer Gauri Gill has a new award the prestigious Grange Prize from Canada

People are her subjects and through their images,Gauri Gill weaves a narrative in each of her frames whether it is of rural migrants in Rajasthan or a South Asian immigrant living in the US. Her photographs have travelled the world,winning critical acclaim. A few days ago,the Delhi-based photographer won one of the most prestigious contemporary photography awards in Canada,the Grange Prize. Instituted by Torontos Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in association with Aeroplan,a Canadian corporate sponsor,the award comprises a prize money of $50,000 (approx Rs 25 lakh). I hope the prize also leads people to take a look at the various series in depth,I work in long series and not only individual frames, said Gill,41,who was competing with Chennai-based Nandini Valli and Canadians Elaine Stocki and Althea Thauberger.

Photographs by the four finalists were put up for pubic voting and that,according to Gill,makes this award more prized. The award is a real honour. Everything I do involves and is influenced by so many others that it is in a sense,collaborative. So,to have won a prize that is judged by the public from different countries,including,but not only,India,reinforces my belief that we are not alone, says Gill,an MFA from Stanford University. The Grange Prize was instituted four years ago and,among the eminent jury,were Delhi-based curator Gayatri Sinha and photographer-writer Sunil Gupta.

While Gills series of photographs of marginalised communities in Western Rajasthan (which she worked on for over a decade) is one of her most celebrated,Gill has also roamed her neighbourhood in Nizamuddin to give a glimpse of its streets at night. She has also exhibited images of Indian diaspora in the US,turning the camera on professionals in Silicon Valley and taxi drivers among others.

Back home from Toronto,Gill is working on a book of photographs from her series Balika Mela. In this project,Gill had set up a photo studio at a fair for young girls in Lunkaransar,Rajasthan,where they could get their portraits clicked.

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Gauri Gill

Prize Moment for Serial Shooter

People are her subjects and through their images,Gauri Gill weaves a narrative in each of her frames  whether it is of rural migrants in Rajasthan or a South Asian immigrant living in the US.

People are her subjects and through their images,Gauri Gill weaves a narrative in each of her frames whether it is of rural migrants in Rajasthan or a South Asian immigrant living in the US.