Photographer Nishat Fatima’s new show, ‘The Galaxy of Endless Possibilities’ takes a fresh look at the LGBTQIA+ identity at the India Photo Festival in Hyderabad
Photographer Nishat Fatima’s new show, ‘The Galaxy of Endless Possibilities’ takes a fresh look at the LGBTQIA+ identity at the India Photo Festival in Hyderabad
Have an upcoming photo exhibition. tries to bridge the gap between Photographer Nishat Fatima have discovered behind words like LGBTQIA+, queer, trans, to name a few, and the perceptions of people who always think about them and their lives have fallen away from how quickly the jargon develops. This detail is, of course, an oversight of the highest order.
Photographed in and around Hyderabad since being approached by festival director Aquin Mathews to do the project this August, Fatima’s large-format works – a total of eight paintings, each about four feet in height – in Madhapur Will be hung in the State Art Gallery. , Hyderabad, for a full month as part of the India Photo Festival.
Nishat Fatima’s ‘The Galaxy of Endless Possibilities’ shows the LGBTQIA+ community as they are in places and places that are convenient for them. , photo credit: Nishat Fatima
The photographs will be accompanied by an audio component, excerpts from conversations with the subjects, as an introduction to their lives and the work they do at the grassroots level, away from the glamor of social media and the public eye. “One of them, an activist who works with at-risk youth, told me they felt a little nervous during the shoot,” says Fatima, former editor Harper’s Bazaar Bharat, which also has a solo show titled ‘A surrealist feeling’, in the Goethe Zentrum (until 18 November). “But he kept a brave face and went through the process because he felt it would open doors for his friends and colleagues.”
“How small was my village; I didn’t know that there is even a transgender in society. I felt that I was born alone…,” says Harshini Mekala (he/she). , photo credit: Nishat Fatima
a brave look at queerness
Titled ‘The Galaxy of Endless Possibilities’, this body of work is exactly that. A collective brave face that represents an important human aspect of the LGBTQIA+ community – social workers and grassroots mentors – is photographed in locations and locations convenient to them, artistically connecting different themes Work in collage. The life and work they do within the community. And just as the subject and sitter are different for each picture, so is its treatment and end result.
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For example, explains Fatima (who studied photography at Spios in Paris), the way a collage is designed may have something to do with the sitter’s role in those people’s lives, and here Can even be attached to a personal. Story – The discovery that Hyderabad photographers encourage you to do in the gallery of your own choice, listening to the sitters talk straight to you. Her aim, however, is to transcend the labels of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transmen, transwoman, genderqueer, intersex, non-binary, asexual, pansexual, demi pansexual and other such identities. Fatima, who identifies as a cis-gender, says, “There are more similarities than we’d like to admit.
Vimal (he/she) identifies himself as a transman. Works with social worker organisation, Star. , photo credit: Nishat Fatima
from an outsider’s point of view
This leads me to question the nature of her ally – where non-series people are lauded for supporting non-standard people, but instead of speaking on behalf of those traditionally oppressed. The location is expected to leave. , I ask her if this makes her ever hesitant to re-think about taking on a project that focuses on gay identities?
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“Yeah, that was the first thought that crossed my mind, which is why one of the more important aspects of the series is the audio/text of the people whose illustrations are part of the project,” she says. “But does this also mean that there is no outsider, someone who is not a member of the community, can do any work, even if he is well-intentioned and informed? I am looking for clarity on this as well. Am.”
Perhaps the show will be the first step in Fatima’s journey to find answers to such basic questions, and invite others to question their own beliefs and roles in such contexts.
India Photo Festival runs from 18 November to 19 December.
The author is a fashion consultant and commentator based in New Delhi.