Capturing environmental issues in myriad frames

Four winners have been selected amongst hundreds of applicants for the maiden Habitat Photosphere award. They will create a body of work on the theme of sustainable development. A jury comprising practising and eminent photographers – Bandeep Singh, Parthiv Shah, Aditya Arya and Prabir Purkayastha, went through a rigorous procedure of debating and discussing each application to select the final winners. 

The four awardees —

Harikrishna Katragadda, Monica Tiwari, Shraddha Borawake and K R Sunil — will be mentored by these photographers. Each winner is also awarded a monetary grant of Rs 2 lakh. The award is part of a year-long photography festival titled Habitat Photosphere initiated by India Habitat Centre and is curated and conceptualised by art historian Alka Pande. 

These winners can utilise the prize money by spending on travel and research to produce a comprehensive body of work for their outdoor exhibition that will be displayed in December 2016.

The jurists were looking for “style, execution and concept” while selecting the finalists. 

According to Shah, who will be mentoring Katragadda, the role of the mentor will be to channelise the awardees thinking and energies on the broad theme of environmental damage, restoration and preservation. 

“Beyond the award, this exposure would help in creating a long term commitment on using photography for environmental education and protection,” says Shah.

Purkayastha, who will be mentoring Borawake says, “We were impressed by the fact that Shraddha (Borawake) has gone beyond the visual language of photography and works in a transmedial way using it as a central point creating two and three dimensional works. We want to encourage new languages in photography through this festival and that is where she scored.”

Tiwari aims to document the lifestyle changes caused due to migration. “My project aims to focus on the challenging, uncertain, and heartbreaking journeys undertaken by the parents who migrate, and especially focusing on the children and the elderly who are left behind in their native lands.”

Borawake will be working on an installation-based project while Sunil aims to document the fast-disappearing ponds in various parts of Kerala.