Mumbai Sleeping DHRUV DHAWAN
MUMBAI SLEEPING
Dhruv Dhawan, May 30 – June 20, 2015
Read what the GEORGIA STRAIGHT newspaper wrote about this collection:
http://www.straight.com/arts/465836/dhruv-dhawans-mumbai-sleeping-forces-us-look-inwards
**Film Screening & Closing Reception Wednesday, June 17th @ 7:00pm **
Please RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/381182702080543/
Viewing by appointment – Call 604-636-7096 or EMAIL HERE
MUMBAI SLEEPING: Documentary Photography & Video Exhibition @ The Blank Tank Gallery – May 30th – June 20th, 2015
Synopsis:
Mumbai is India’s most affluent city and one of the most densely populated metropolises in the world. Each day, thousands flock to its shores in search of the urban dream and end up sleeping on the streets.
Critically acclaimed filmmaker and photographer, Dhruv Dhawan, spent three years roaming the streets of Mumbai at night capturing portraits of the unconscious while documenting a phenomena of urbanization where space has become so scarce that private acts are conducted in public.
Combining digital photography with black and white film, the Mumbai Sleeping collection is a testament to the resilience of the lower class urban population who expose the diversity of a basic human experience, forcing us to question whether a good night’s sleep is a luxury or a necessity.
Mumbai Sleeping has been featured in the European edition of “Photo Magazine” and has been exhibited in Paris and Dubai. It is now showing for the first time in North America.
Artist Statement:
I began photographing Mumbai Sleeping in the summer of 2009 to explore the diversity of a universal human experience. I was in awe of my subjects who use the urban landscape as a bed when most of the people I know cannot sleep with a light on, the sound of traffic or an uncomfortable mattress. In particular, I was inspired by the taxi drivers who slept in such a romantic balance with their vehicles after leaving their wives and families in the rural parts of the country to make a living in India’s city of dreams.
I was also motivated by the idea and opportunity to photograph people while they are unaware of the camera and to remove the politics of the pose from my images. In this sense I was trying to capture portraits of the unconscious.
Of the few people that woke up whilst being photographed no one opposed my actions after I explained my motives. I am ever grateful to the people of my country whose camaraderie with photographers and artists allows us to capture real life as it unfolds without being disrupted by the politics of consent.
Over 900 images later I still find myself compelled to document this phenomena of urbanization in the 21st century where space has become so scarce that private acts are conducted in public. Mumbai Sleeping is a testament to the resilience of the lower class urban population who drive the wheel of the city by day and sleep on it at night – forcing us to question whether a good night’s sleep is a luxury or a necessity.
Artist Bio:
Born in Mumbai and raised in Dubai, Dhruv Dhawan is a documentary filmmaker and photographer exploring narratives of the human condition. He studied cultural anthropology at Duke University and completed his Masters in film production at UBC.
Dhruv’s films are distributed globally and have been nominated for various awards on the festival circuit. His debut feature, “From Dust” was critically acclaimed by the international press and screened at the United Nations for its exposé of gentrification in the wake of natural disasters.
In 2009, while directing a series of commercial films for a luxury real estate developer in Mumbai, Dhruv began roaming the streets at night to capture Indians dreaming in the shadows of capitalism.
Dhruv brings a cinematic aesthetic to the Mumbai Sleeping collection which has been exhibited in Paris and Dubai and is also available as a photography book on Amazon.
http://www.straight.com/arts/465836/dhruv-dhawans-mumbai-sleeping-forces-us-look-inwards
