Shooting Change

At the Delhi Photo Festival, Shisir Basumatari marries painting with photography

Photography and painting have shared a love and hate relationship since the coming of the camera. They have challenged each other, mimicked each other and even been influenced by each other. I see FlatCube, as I have named my body of work, as an outcome of this tempestuous, and sometimes incestuous, relationship.
Painting people and then taking their photographs is then a way for me to appreciate the physical form of art and the feel of it. Painting a person with a paint brush and talking to him or her makes the form very real and brings me closer to my work. At the Delhi Photo Festival, friends and even strangers joined in to complete the work. But even while working in private spaces, I encourage models to suggest ideas and help paint the props and spaces. For me, this is fun, to get my hands dirty, and to see people pick up the brushes and say, “Feels great to paint after so many years”.

Salt is for taste, but I cannot have an entire bowl of salt for lunch. My take on photography and art and on digital manipulation is similar. I see FlatCube as an open form that undergoes transformations with each new work. It is continually challenging itself and the words that try to define this form. It is, in other words, an active living form.

Delhi Photo Festivalpaintingphotography