Welcome to Journeys within / without.
I belong to a generation whose kids stood in front of a camera holding on to their smiles till the sound of the shutter and that of the advancing of the roll died into a frown on a tired photograph’s face.
My fascination with cameras and equipment probably started with those sounds. The care with which elders used to change rolls always got me wondering whom or what they were protecting.
It had a sense of secrecy, a mystery that was irresistible. It was the last of the age of the ‘photobabu’.
Born and educated in the historical city of Varanasi only fuelled the temptation I had for photography. Though I pursued my bachelors in fine arts, my inclination towards photography kept a fire burning in me all the time.
It has been a long journey from borrowing a friend’s camera to owning one and reaching here. This show comprises a collection of black and white and coloured photographs unveiling the voyages of both ‘belongingness’ and ‘disconnect’ this land has so far offered me.
I have had, in this life so far, my share of acquisitions and surrenders, victories and forfeits, acceptance and rejection, and they have opened a multitude of frames to me – frames in which I often posit myself, frames through which I see the world. After all, we only regret the life unlived.
JAYESH SHARMA
(PHOTOGRAPHER)