Inside-Out/Rajeev Lochan

The model and the location have been brought together to create a cinematographic sequence, says Rajeev Lochan It seems he treats his pai...

The model and the location have been brought together to create a cinematographic sequence, says Rajeev Lochan

It seems he treats his paintings as photographs?

quot;Yes, people tell me that my paintings look like photographs, and I tell them they do in a way.quot; Rajeev Lochan, a 43-year-old painter from Delhi, is looking to bridge the gap between photography and painting.

And in treating his work as one continuous chain.

Back in the city after 20 years, Lochan looks at his series titled The Reality of Vision8217; as a sequel to his previous works. quot;Beginning with Vision in Illusion8217;, I went on to Interiors8217;, Anticipation8217;, Introspective Anticipation8217;, Doors of Perception8217; and Within and Beyond8217;.

Was the creative trip only in words or did the transition show in his work too?

In the early 8217;70s, his oils made a bathroom, or even a bed, look like an individual. Then came his paintings of ruins and historic cityscapes ravaged by nature and time. quot;That wasthe time when photography was a tool for me.quot; He was introduced to the lens by stalwarts like Jyoti Bhatt, Raghav Kaneria and Nasreen Mohammedi at M S University, Baroda. Also, enamoured by the Photorealism prevalent in the West in the 8217;60s and 8217;70s, he replicated photographic images. quot;But it was a tool which could easily go into oblivion.quot;.

Still, he kept experimenting with it till 1994?

quot;Then one day it dawned upon me that I had the skill. But it wasn8217;t just about skill, it was also about sense. So instead of using photography as a tool, I turned it around into a medium.quot;

This is also the first time Lochan has used the human form?

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quot;All the while my interest was human sans the being, though the focus was on social behaviour and falseness. This time, instead of segregating the two, I have bound them to create a cinematographic sequence where the model and the topographical location are of my choice.quot;

And though the frames are bright they are about socialcriticism.

In his treated silver gelatine prints, Lochan has juxtaposed human form with symbolic debris. On one hand there8217;s metallic junk, on the other arid leaves, dry tree trunks and grass. While the locales speak of a degenerating society, the clutter around the human form makes a mockery of those who believe in the existence of a perfect, beautiful world. quot;Instead of replicating a photograph like my earlier works, I shot these pictures and then worked upon them with acrylic, oils, and even stained glass paint.