Shaping a Vision | Swapan Parekh

Swapan Parekh is one of the rare photographers of today who encountered manifold genres of photography to reach his very own path. Swapan’s varied identities as a son of acclaimed Indian photojournalist Kishor Parekh, apprentice of documentary photography in New York, youngest juror of World Press Photo thrice and introducer of documentary aesthetics in Indian advertising photography might seem less significant to his own way of seeing the medium. When the global photographic practice is in a hurry and young photographers are shooting in bubbles, Swapan prefers to slow down and discuss the tradition and possibilities of the medium or anti-medium, developing visual sensibilities and informed choices on shaping one’s vision.

Workshop participants will spend 3 days with Swapan where he will see individual bodies of work of participating photographers. The workshop will emphasize on slowing down and 'looking' at the work more meaningfully to think beyond ‘predetermined’ projects. There will be a flexible format of the workshop to take it as it goes. For the participants, it would be important to confront the parameter of any school of thought, where everything should be about a 'body of work'.  As the workshop goes along, Swapan will also share his own journey as a photographer to discuss how an individual vision needs to shape up. And in addition, how to print one's work respectfully and what a good print should look like in parameters of both Colour and Black & White.

Biography

Swapan Parekh studied photojournalism and documentary photography at the International Centre of Photography, New York. After early years of practicing documentary photography, over the last 2 decades he is widely acclaimed to have brought in the documentary aesthetic to Indian advertising photography. Concurrently, throughout his career, Parekh has been pursuing personal photography, both in Colour and Black & White. 

His works have been exhibited globally at leading museums like the FOAM, Tate Modern, Aperture, etc., besides being featured in magazines like, Time, Life, American Photo, The London Independent, Der Speigel, El Pais, etc.

Besides being the recipient of the World Press Photo Award in 1994, he has also been on their jury thrice (2004, 2005, & 2008). He was awarded ‘The Advertising Photographer of the Year’ from the Commercial Artists’ Guild in the year 2000.

Swapan works out of Bombay.

Duration: 3 days

Date: Jan 25 to 27, 2015

Seats: Booked