“Why don’t you get a real job?” — a question often heard by artists of genres such as art, photography, music and much more. The idea of a ‘real job’ may differ for each individual, but the reality exists in society placing such a burden on it to be a 9 to 5 desk job.
Akansha Singh is a 20-year-old stylist and creative-enthusiast from Delhi who pondered over this very facet of society. She portrayed it beautifully through a photo series that is photographed by Hansraj Dochaniya and styled by her.
“Every time I speak to an artist, I see the struggle of not having slept in weeks and living on instant soup in order to have money to buy paint. We have the ability to express such beauty while we live in such despair,” says Akansha.
The photo series tries to express the inner agony, despair and other overwhelming emotions that an artist experiences when subjected to expectations of people that probably contribute very little to their lives. The fear of not being sufficient or monetarily independent weighs down the passions of many, and often causes artists to take up jobs that barely fulfil them. This aspect is wonderfully (and painfully) conveyed in the photo series through the mundane briefcases.
While the series in itself is something to get you thinking, it is a realistic representation of a whole community of artists. A rigid and painful situation portrayed as a thing of beauty – something artists excel at.
You can find Akansha’s work here.
You can find Hansraj’s work here.
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