abhishekdasgupta

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

Interview Abhishek Dasgupta

When I first walked into the wrestling pit, what was my impression of the space?

These wrestling pits provided me with an opportunity to explore a dialogue suggesting dimensions of reality beyond visible and tangible.

Did I feel instantly familiar with the space -- in a pleasantly intimate way-- or was it claustrophobic?

I always feel inclined towards liminal spaces, the more time I spend, it gets more intimate. It slowly becomes a space for introspection, a place for a dialogue and interaction with self.

How did I adjust to the sounds and smells of the space ?

I felt at one with the space right from the inception.

How quickly did I realise that this series would not simply be an ethnographic portrait of wrestlers -- but something more personal?

If we look back in history, there are references to the likes of Socrates and Plato using a common gathering place like a wrestling pit or gymnasium for discussions, dialogues, etc. a place where the body and the mind both could be explored and enriched.

Right from the very beginning, the idea of the works were not to be documentative or ethnographic in nature. The pit and the wrestlers were just subjects in their space giving me the opportunity to reveal the interplay of anatomical and spiritual forces.

How do I play with the notions of external/internal?

The subconscious mind is the follower of the conscious mind, it can only accept what the conscious mind leads it to do. I think it’s an ongoing process of observing cause and effect, a locked and

Can I explain the color palette that emerges in these images?

Color may generate another level of meaning in the mind. This symbolism arises from cultural and contemporary contexts. There is a predominant use of red in these works, Red is the color of extremes. It’s the color of passion, seduction, violence, danger, anger, and adventure. Our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the color of fire and blood – energy and primal life forces.

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

Ice formation in the himalayas- shifting landscapes series 2013

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

[abhishekdasgupta]

In 2010, I spend a long time observing these holy-men arrive at a particular time for a holy dip in the ganges. Thus began the search of my questions of situatedness, location and a comparative and a speculative investigating through photographic images for the role and the relation of the body to our understanding of time.

While observing these naked holy men smeared with ashes, I experienced a distinct sensation that we return to the body again and again- birth after birth and as a floating feeling of time. Whereas these men are resolved to stop that cycle of birth and rebirth by this holy and thus attempt of stop time.