Finding Utopia With Shoeb Mashadi

Finding Utopia

I. Contextualize yourself in one line.

A waiter turned accidental 'self taught' photographer who makes pictures to earn his bread and shutter..oops butter.

II. A picture that left an impression on you while growing up?

Steve McCurry's portrait of the afghan girl.

III. Your greatest achievement?

Being selected among ten photographers in the world for TEDx photocall held in Ede,Amsterdam last year and

Being chosen to be one of the faces of GC watches as a part of their global 'Rising Stars' campaign at such early stages of my career. Also, getting my camera-shy parents to sit and pose for a portrait for me recently was an achievement of sorts too.

IV. Something you never get sick of...

Making pictures,good coffee and intelligent conversations.

V. If 'Finding Utopia' had a soundtrack, what would it be?

Pair of wings by Frankie Rose. It'll be playing at the time of the exhibit.

VI. What is the one emotion you expect the series will evoke in people?

A sense of loneliness.

VII. Monochromatic images have the power to…

To make people wait and stare longer at a picture than they generally would , I feel monochromatic pictures bring out more character in the images and thereby put people in the spot to stop and think rather than just look and appreciate an image. I love monochrome any day.

VIII. 3 things that inspired the series.

- A short film that never got made.

- The works of photographers Prabuddha Dasgupta and Pablo Bartholomew.

- Tamara Moss

More on Finding Utopia:

A candid, non linear narrative. A journal of everyday chaos and mundane chores - but lift the veil, dig deeper and the protagonist lets you into her inner world, where you can glimpse fragments of what lies inside each of us – the millions of questions about the uncertainty of life, the sense of loneliness and longing to belong to something or someone, or a longing to break free and wander onto a road that draws us. To escape the neurosis of the mind and find comfort and security in dreams, dreaming on and on and never coming back - to escape from unrequited love. A realm of memories and a scar for life. This journal is a chronicle of the emotions, feelings and thoughts that are a part of every individual’s personal experiences.

[ you're anything like us, that interview probably left you wanting more. Show up at The ART LOFT for the opening of 'Finding Utopia' 7.30 p.m. onwards.]

More Pictures from the series:

The Art Loft  - 37 Waroda Road, Behind St Peters Church, Bandra West, Mumbai - 400050.