<p>It’s been four days since Berlin-based artist Gusztáv Hámos is in the City. But he seems to be least impressed by the national Capital. <br /><br />“On Saturday I decided to walk from Saket to Khirkee Extension. I was bit annoyed with cars and motorcycles, so I decided to walk on the pavement. Before I could realise it was devoid of streetlight, I had fallen into an open manhole,” says Gusztáv who was injured and is in a state of shock after the incident.<br /><br />Still, he is not badmouthing about Delhi, where he has exhibited his collection of photographs and videos - -‘Sample Cities/Imaginary Spaces’ a cinematographic installation at Khoj International Artists’ Association, Khirkee Extension. <br /><br />It is his third visit to India. Last year in February he visited Bangalore for an exhibition and then later Mumbai for the exhibition which is presently on view. <br /><br /> “The work is basically my research work on photography and film,” says Gusztáv, who started photography way back in 1970s. <br /><br />“I was very much interested in photography. People say it is a proof of reality. But the moment you click a picture reality is fictionalised. I did a series of photographs to understand the reality and fiction,” says the artist who gradually shifted to video art after he moved to Berlin in 1979. </p>.<p>He succeeded in that field and worked for German film and television industry. <br /><br />For years Gusztáv worked on interactive videos and installations. While working, what intrigued him the most was “Why should pictures move in a film?” <br /><br />“Till 1998 I produced essay films for German television. While I was working, the concept of moving images attracted me and I therefore decided to produce films without moving images. I believe through a series of photographs a story can be narrated,” says he. </p>.<p>Another thing that draws his attention is the ‘City’. “City life, indeed, is a very interesting thing. <br /><br />It tells you about the people who are living in it and about the circumstances they are surviving in. It has very interesting dynamics too, expresses a lot about the relationship of the people at social, political and economic levels,” says Gusztáv. <br /><br />His latest exhibition has photo-sequence works of cities like Berlin, Budapest and New York which have a traumatised past due to Cold War, dictatorships and terrorist-engineered catastrophe. These images were produced by the artist between 1973 <br />and 2012. <br /><br />“I was born when the Cold War was going on. I grew up in a socialist country like Hungary and experienced the soft dictatorship. Since I belong to a Jewish family, my family was moved in the Holocaust. My great grandparents and relatives were killed in World War. I know the suffering of the people when they experience such tragedies. This feeling makes every picture special to me as it is a part of me,” says Gusztáv.</p>
<p>It’s been four days since Berlin-based artist Gusztáv Hámos is in the City. But he seems to be least impressed by the national Capital. <br /><br />“On Saturday I decided to walk from Saket to Khirkee Extension. I was bit annoyed with cars and motorcycles, so I decided to walk on the pavement. Before I could realise it was devoid of streetlight, I had fallen into an open manhole,” says Gusztáv who was injured and is in a state of shock after the incident.<br /><br />Still, he is not badmouthing about Delhi, where he has exhibited his collection of photographs and videos - -‘Sample Cities/Imaginary Spaces’ a cinematographic installation at Khoj International Artists’ Association, Khirkee Extension. <br /><br />It is his third visit to India. Last year in February he visited Bangalore for an exhibition and then later Mumbai for the exhibition which is presently on view. <br /><br /> “The work is basically my research work on photography and film,” says Gusztáv, who started photography way back in 1970s. <br /><br />“I was very much interested in photography. People say it is a proof of reality. But the moment you click a picture reality is fictionalised. I did a series of photographs to understand the reality and fiction,” says the artist who gradually shifted to video art after he moved to Berlin in 1979. </p>.<p>He succeeded in that field and worked for German film and television industry. <br /><br />For years Gusztáv worked on interactive videos and installations. While working, what intrigued him the most was “Why should pictures move in a film?” <br /><br />“Till 1998 I produced essay films for German television. While I was working, the concept of moving images attracted me and I therefore decided to produce films without moving images. I believe through a series of photographs a story can be narrated,” says he. </p>.<p>Another thing that draws his attention is the ‘City’. “City life, indeed, is a very interesting thing. <br /><br />It tells you about the people who are living in it and about the circumstances they are surviving in. It has very interesting dynamics too, expresses a lot about the relationship of the people at social, political and economic levels,” says Gusztáv. <br /><br />His latest exhibition has photo-sequence works of cities like Berlin, Budapest and New York which have a traumatised past due to Cold War, dictatorships and terrorist-engineered catastrophe. These images were produced by the artist between 1973 <br />and 2012. <br /><br />“I was born when the Cold War was going on. I grew up in a socialist country like Hungary and experienced the soft dictatorship. Since I belong to a Jewish family, my family was moved in the Holocaust. My great grandparents and relatives were killed in World War. I know the suffering of the people when they experience such tragedies. This feeling makes every picture special to me as it is a part of me,” says Gusztáv.</p>
