My photograph titled ‘Natural Drive’ is part of the Lockdown Diaries exhibition being held at Museo Camera Centre for the Photographic Arts in Gurgaon.
The exhibit fosters creativity in these times featuring the works of over 50 photographers and enthusiasts who shared their visual interpretation of life under lockdown.
Lockdown Diaries was launched on World Photography Day (August 19) and is ongoing till October 31.
About my submission ‘Natural Drive’ – Perhaps the biggest learning during the lockdown has been how nature has begun to heal itself while reclaiming its rightful stature which had been historically abused by humans. That is what came to mind when I saw a car parked outside my home covered in leaves in April, just a month into the lockdown. Considering vehicular pollution has caused serious damage to the environment for so long, it was only fitting that nature finally took over and restored balance. Here’s hoping that this balance is respected as and when we enter the ‘new normal’ in a post-lockdown world.
Despite all the challenges of dealing with the lockdown amid a global pandemic, there is always a chance to look at life through a creative lens. As photographers, we are used to seeking out new vistas by traveling away from our comfort zones but the lockdown has been an opportunity to shift one’s focus to those things in life that we took for granted. Perhaps in a pre-lockdown world I would not have seen any deeper meaning in seeing a car covered in leaves but in these times, that made for a visual statement which inspired me to take this picture.
Museo Camera is home to over 3,000 objects including cameras, miscellaneous equipment and photographic ephemera and brings alive the milestones in photography spanning more than 200 years. The Museum also has gallery spaces for curated events, teaching facilities, studios for workshops, seminar rooms, a multi-media resource centre a library, a cafe and a museum shop that retails among other things, rare photographic memorabilia.
Nyay Bhushan 