‘Photography is no longer male-dominated, especially among the younger generation’: Dayanita Singh

Central to all these works is Mona Ahmed, Singh’s dearest friend. “My connection with Mona began in 1989, and although she passed away in 2017, she still lives in my work, almost dances into my ongoing work as in the montages. While examining my prints of Saroj Khan from the 90s, I noticed that the Mona prints seemed to blend seamlessly with them. I cut and pasted these different images together, physically and created these montages.”

“The São Paulo Bienal presentation excites me greatly because it shows so many different aspects of my work, but all revolving around my beloved friend, Mona. Sometimes my mother, sometimes my child, Mona was as close to me as my mother is. She is the most unique person I have met in my life. Therefore, this Bienal holds an even greater significance for me, as Mona lies at its core,” she shares.

Mona Montage (Credit: Dayanita Singh Studio)

Singh, who published her first photo book, Zakir Hussain, in 1986, hated the idea of a print being stuck to a wall, fossilised behind a frame. “Photography, to me alive, is tactile, and I looked for ways to bring that tactility into the viewing experience,” she says, sharing the idea behind the conceptualisation of her unique mobile museums.

“These are large, wooden structures, standing around 8 feet tall. These structures that open and close in different configurations, also allow for the continuous rearrangement of images within them, as well as changing their own architecture to create an organic and ever-evolving form. For instance, the ‘Museum of Dance’ holds a reserved collection of about 70 images, with 40 on display, it can be wide open or closed into a pillar,” she adds.

As such, photographs for her are raw materials, waiting to be shaped. “Photographing alone doesn’t suffice. These museums represent one form while moving stills and montages embody another. Each work on display is more than a traditional photograph; they each possess a distinctive form,” she explains.

For the ace photographer, this art form has been a medium to be free. And now, she is extending that freedom to the medium itself. “After decades in photography, I want to contribute to its freedom in my own little way. Photography holds immense potential, yet we often become stuck and then there are the rules of the marketplace,” she says.

Tracing the shift in photography over the last few decades, she opened up about the time she started creating digital prints. “A very significant change occurred when I began making digital prints, allowing me to create ‘Museum Bhawan’ with 900 prints. This wouldn’t have been possible with traditional silver prints. Although I felt sad leaving behind silver prints, transitioning to digital proved to be of advantage to me,” Singh underlines, adding that this has been a monumental shift in her journey.

Museum of Dance (Credit: Dayanita Singh Studio)

She believes that photography has changed significantly over the last decade. “Amazing photographers have emerged, like Gauri Gill and Sohrab Hura, who have discovered unique approaches to the documentary worldwide. I’m also deeply impressed by The Delhi Walla, Mayank Austen Soofi, who, although does not label himself a photographer, captures daily life and stories consistently, building an impressive archive through the web. Earlier, people used to look to the West to see what new is happening in the medium. Now, there are very formidable new forms emerging from within in this region that the West may need to look to,” she says.

Photography is largely considered a male-dominated industry but Singh seeks to view it differently. “When I embarked on my photographic journey, the male-dominated landscape actually worked out in my favour. Since the boys’ club of photography at the time was not interested in my work, I was completely free to do what I wanted with the medium. However, I believe photography is no longer male-dominated, especially among the younger generation, with so many women making amazing work.”

“Men may still be more in numbers, and India has some very fine photographers but who are the people pushing photography in new directions – in my very subjective opinion they are Sheba Chhachhi, Gauri Gill, Sohrab Hura and if you included me then it’s three women and one man, something to think about. (Much as I hate to talk about gender),” she says.

Though women might be fewer in number within photography, those who are shaping the field are predominantly women, she believes. Therefore, determining gender dominance requires consideration beyond sheer numbers, focusing on distinctive impacts and shifts within the medium.

As the world celebrated World Photography Day today, the photographer has a piece of important advice for every youngster looking to venture into the field. “I cannot emphasise enough the importance of finding something that sustains you over a lifetime. Discover a project you can commit to for decades, as photography records time like none other. Future photographers could think of themselves as archivists, continuously photographing whatever it is that fascinates them but regularly rigorously over time, months, years decades. It could be as simple as photographing your daughter till she becomes a mother or even the street/s you live on or your own home,” she said, adding that the archive of time, no other medium can do.

Concluding, she once again remarked that photographs are only raw material. Just as having the finest vegetables doesn’t make one a chef, mastering the raw material of photography is only a part of the process. “In the photography world, people are led to believe that making photographs is photography but, for me, dissemination is as much part of photography as the image, and then finding the form for the ‘work’ is the key. Making photographs is just the starting point,” she concluded.

📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!