Of Women, By Women: A new photography exhibition puts the spotlight on young women photographers

“Only a small number of women photographers receive consistent institutional opportunities. Sustaining such efforts requires intention, purpose and a supportive ecosystem,” said Sharma, adding, “I wanted to create a room where the female gaze is not an exception but the foundation. When I began thinking about the kind of photographic language I gravitate towards, I realised almost instinctively that the work I return to, learn from and feel moved by has always been created by women.”

As the viewers’ eyes wandered, they saw a strong silhouette of a woman. Adjacent to it was a mid-shot — a colour photo showing the lower half of two women wearing heavily embroidered pink salwar kameezes and pink dupattas; their bangle adorned hands resting on their laps. In another collage-like grouping, a close-up of hands holding a vibrant yellow flower captured the eye, even as the adjoining image had a woman’s dark, long hair being brushed with a comb.

A glimpse of the photo exhibition (Photo: Kanwaljeet)

“I deeply admire how we (women) often create from a place where intimacy and strength coexist, something I find far rarer within the male gaze in photography. Women bring a sensibility shaped by proximity and attunement to relationships. Their work often shifts the focus from spectacle to emotional truth. They examine the world not by distancing themselves from it, but by entering it fully,” says Sharma.

Her sentiments are echoed by one of the participating artists, Delhi-based Upasana. For the participating artists, the experience echoes the curator’s vision. While acknowledging a slow but steady shift in the field, she said the challenges continue. “A woman’s approach to photography is more mutualistic and it changes the way we look at images. There are a lot more women coming in, but it’s such a gate kept and elitist circle…motivation and knowledge are inherently kept in the middle of the circle. There aren’t a lot of women in fashion photography which is weird because most of it caters to women and not a lot in fine art,” said the 26-year-old artist.

Among other participants were Disha, Aparna, Aastha, Prachi, Mahija, Upasana, Marika, Komal, Anai, Eve, Douce, Hridya, Katie, Sasha, Prachi, and Ana. The decision to refer to each artist solely by her first name was also part of Sharma’s curatorial vision to “dissolve social markers such as caste, class, geography, and lineage that often precede a woman’s identity in the Indian context.” The core theme binding the diverse collection is intimacy and how women see, negotiate, and express it in their everyday lives.

“Intimacy, for me, is like the invisible red thread that connects people across places, time, and possibilities. There can be various ways of intimacy, and at specific points of life, the intimacy of grief becomes evident. Through my personal experiences, I shed light on this through a visual journey,” said Mahija, whose work, ‘Double Star’, clicked in Cardiff in 2022 showcased the feeling of “being close even when apart”.

While the exhibition in Gurugram came to a close on December 2, Sharma now hopes to take it to different parts of the country. “The idea is that women should be able to articulate their own visual language without the filters of comparison, expectation or hierarchy that often shape photography in India, a field largely defined by male voices,” she said.