On What It Is.

It is that I have found the focus I was looking for am back in Toronto after a three month creative sojourn in India. During this time, what has become clear to me is Part 2 of my (creative) dreams: To build a socially responsible and financially sound design studio that will also make it possible for me to photograph the inherent rudeness, resilience and beauty of identities not often seen in print.

To build these dreams, I am banking on the idea that self-love is infectious and good for business :) As I learn to love myself entirely, mistakes and all, I realize that what I dream is possible. And this realization feeds my higher purpose for all the work that is to follow: to teach them youth to search, understand, respect, love and develop in art, aesthetics and, most of all, in themselves. The sentiment of this is best expressed by Lauryn Hill in "The Passion":

"If they only showed love, they owed love, owed love, like this
before
If they only knew love, true love, to love, like this before
If they only gave love, saved love, brave love, like this
before
If they only showed love, they owed love, they owed love, like
this before

La la la la la, la la la la, la la la la la, La la la la la..."

La la la la...this is serious...la la...and fun...business...la la...run, come test.

Madam, fly.

"Madam, fly"...whack! Such is the dilemma of being beautiful, bored, middle class and home in Delhi. Falling in love with the everyday, mundane objects of the ordinary, Indian feminine - blue Bata chappels, mosquito nets, bindis, altha, parandhis, stitched conical bras, electric mosquito rackets - we set out to create a fantasy where utility and beauty converged in exaggeration.

Rashmi Varma rashmivarma.com was the creative and talented stylist, Nira Kehar was the versatile and sexy model and I was the photographer. We also worked with a professional make-up artist and hair stylist, Ashima Kapoor.

The average Delhi marketplace is full of objects of extraordinary beauty, particularly when recontextualized as aesthetic devices. Rashmi brought these objects together along with a selection of clothing that contemporized them, while Nira expressed the self-absorbed afflictions common to a crazed "Madam, fly."

Working together was energizing and I def plan to do it again. Bam!

Bombay Beautiful

These images are from my trip to Bombay Beautiful. From the old (pictured above) to the new, from the Art Deco buildings and the plush, upholstered taxis to the contemporary galleries and swish design culture, Bombay is magnetic. Am I likely to return? Very likely.

Nira Kehar: Part 1

I had the privilege of taking studio shots of Nira Kehar, a gorgeous, grounded, up and coming model in India. She needed head shots for her portfolio, so apart from the couple minutes we took to get creative with body shots (see top two images), we stuck to our agenda and concentrated on head shots.

We have plans to work together again and are excitedly working towards bringing our ideas to life. Stay tuned for some wacky, wonderful photographs imbued with the spirit of Delhi!