Sunil Gupta Indian, b. 1953

Sunil Gupta is recognized as a photographer, curator, writer and activist for his works and engagements, which largely deal with issues such as racism, alternative sexuality and the voices from the leeway of society and culture. The subject matter in his photographs often poses a challenge to the viewer by bringing out conflicts that appear with the objectification of the viewed. As a writer, Gupta has five books to his credit. Also respected for his curatorial practice, Gupta’s most recent project, Where Dreams Cross: 150 Years of Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh at the Whitechapel Gallery, London in 2010, was very well received in the art world as well as in the media. His 2008 co-curated exhibition Click! Contemporary Photography in India is considered an important survey of the breadth of Indian photography at the time, and included over 100 photographs by 86 artists. The locus of all his projects is formed out of his genuine concerns about art, life, existence of the ‘other’ and its expression.

Gupta’s occupation with the ‘Pre-Raphaelites’ is more a texture of the era than a yearning for the same - his subjects in the photographs are characteristically very contemporary. The subject’s gaze in each of his photographs is penetratingly appealing whether within the pictorial space or outside, at the audience.

Sunil Gupta lives and works in New Delhi and London.