Gayatri Mohan's Photo Shoot Is Reimagining 90s Cartoons Through The Art Of Self-Portraiture

Gayathri Mohan, a stylist, model, and content creator from Kochi, had always been interested in photography, and so, during the lockdown, she started experimenting with self-portraits. Since she is a very nostalgic person, most of her concept-driven photoshoots have a retro/vintage element to them. Her latest muse is cartoons from the 1990s, which gave her the inspiration for the current series she has been creating.

“Whenever I recreate a character, whether it’s fictional or real, I always try to find a middle-ground between the concept coming across as cosplay and an actual wearable outfit. At the same time, however, I try to leave a small element of the actual concept or character itself. I want to continue experimenting and learning more along the way,” says Gayathri.

Quick questions:

I. What is your creative/artistic process like, from conception to ideation?

I don’t have any particular process. I sometimes wake up with an idea or find a particular object and build around it. But even as I start doing the shoot, I keep making changes. I’m pretty indecisive but this helps edit my work.

II. Any Indian contemporaries of yours whom you admire?

Kripali, Kayancontractor, Small emperors

III. What is the first piece of art/photograph/film/music that impacted you deeply and why?

That’s difficult to point out but the first photograph I distinctly remember is of an old photo my father took of two snakes mating. He is a photographer and I remember being extremely intrigued by it. Movies have always been a huge part of my life but my understanding of films only grew deeper as I grew older. I grew up watching old Malayalam movies and the frames and costumes still influence my work.