Vikram Choudhary /India
There is no color, except the color blue which describes my ancestral land of ‘Mithila’, both symbolically and literally. Blue has the shortest wavelength and the highest frequency and therefore has the potential to carry the maximum energy. Mithila lies in the east Indian state of Bihar. It has been invisible to the world for most part of history and only recently gained some attention, largely for being eponymous with a painting style which developed in this region, thousands of years ago. Many times, I have asked myself the question, ‘What am I doing here?’, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’. After coming a long way, I have realised that it has all, only just started. The pictures that I have been taking or the subjects that I have always been attracted to, didn't make any sense at first but now, it’s all coming together. I spent a lot of time in Mithila, searching for things that I didn't know I was searching for. I was drawn to the vann (forest) of Kapila Muni, who gave the world the timeless Sankhya philosophy. Here I meditated with my mind and body (the camera). I subconsciously shot at dusk and dawn and I would feel myself getting lost in the timelessness of that space. I would feel myself connected to everything around me. Not just the nahars or the ponds or the fields but even the clouds or stars and the entire universe. I would experience different or unusual encounters, things that didn't make sense or just that I didn't understand them then. Now years later, when I read about the earliest works of human civilization that were written amidst these landscapes, I am able to connect the dots, since I have always felt their presence. Contemplating the works of the rishis that were written here thousands of years ago and looking at my own photographs, from the same landscapes, I arrived at the conclusion that art outlives the artists or ‘ars longa, vita brevis’. Art is everywhere. It is in doing nothing and just observing. It is in the stillness and numbness of our mind, when all our five senses activate and perceive what's around it and to absorb it in such a way that we submit ourselves and stay lost in it. Time becomes suspended and we lose track of it. It is then that art is born or seen or felt or captured.
Vikram Choudhary
Curator Statement
Mithila was formerly a kingdom that lay between India and Nepal, and it is now in the eastern state of Bihar in India. This cultural area has historical and mythical significance, encompassing the Ramayana narrative. Photographer Vikram Choudhary's series from the area uses the color blue—which he believes has the ability to convey the most energy—to show a contemporary study of the place. Vikram uses mystical and surreal images to examine the modern Mithila region's scenery, giving the audience a slightly unsettling sense. The artist explores and queries his feeling of identity inside the location he calls home.
Sandeep Biswas
Curator
Vikram Choudhary is a visual artist engaged in various self-directed research projects along with working with multiple visual art and photography communities from India. His photographic work focuses on everyday subjects and the act of observation in daily life, often intertwined with personal narratives. His practice delves into themes such as reality, selfhood, identity, origins, and explores both spiritual and metaphysical dimensions. Through his lens, Vikram seeks to capture and interpret the subtle complexities of human experience and existence.
