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Sandeep Biswas provides a peek into reflected realities of four cities

Photographer Sandeep Biswas travels through reflected and refracted imagery in the New York, Rome, Bangkok and China, and takes us along on this journey of visual poetry.

by Georgina MaddoxPublished on : Oct 15, 2019

Sandeep Biswas is an Indian photographer with over two decades of experience in art, commercial and social documentary photography. His practice as a photographer has earned him a few prestigious awards, fellowships like the Japan Foundation Fellowship 2001, India Habitat Centre Fellowship for Photography 2005, Ministry of Culture Senior Artist Fellowship 2017, and an artist-in-residence programme in the United States.

STIR caught up with him to feature his series of photographs, titled Reflections, that document his travels in a manner that is lyrical, mysterious and visually quite stimulating.

Sandeep Biswas reacts to the simultaneous nature and multiplicity of the Big Apple, its hustle and bustle, swinging glass doors and endless staircases | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
Sandeep Biswas reacts to the simultaneous nature and multiplicity of the Big Apple, its hustle and bustle, swinging glass doors and endless staircases Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas
The towering and highly reflective buildings in New York leave the person feeling dwarfed and humbled by its enormity | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
The towering and highly reflective buildings in New York leave the person feeling dwarfed and humbled by its enormityImage Credit: Sandeep Biswas
Sandeep Biswas capturing that sublime moment between an older Art Deco style building and a spiffy tower covered in reflective glass | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
Sandeep Biswas capturing that sublime moment between an older Art Deco style building and a spiffy tower covered in reflective glass Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas

“After years of being a photographer and searching for the truth and reality, I discovered the possibility of expressing myself beyond photo-realism. This exploration led me to discover an alternate space that enabled me to create my own visual monologue, with the help of reflections,” says Biswas.

“I rediscovered myself in a world where the urban spaces and structures reflected my own subconscious and recreated an alternate vision of escape, desires and a personal struggle to achieve, sometimes even the impossible,” says the photographer who has had seven solo exhibitions and over 50 group exhibitions in various parts of the world.

A lone cyclist in Rome enjoys the morning air fresh after the rains | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
A lone cyclist in Rome enjoys the morning air fresh after the rains Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas

His works have been invited to be part of various international art and photography festivals as well.

“I started to feel as if we are an inter-reflection of everything we are surrounded with, affecting our minds, thoughts and expressions, sometimes just as a silent observer of the constant change. Our minds and our vision accept these changes as our present reality, taking our past into a haze of memories and transforming them into metaphors. I stare at these surfaces, juxtaposing with these facades and my imagination recreating them into a surreal and visual imagery,” says Biswas, who is presently also a curator for photographic arts for VASA, an international online platform for media studies.

One of the triumphant arches in Rome reflected in the textured cobbled stone after the rains | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
One of the triumphant arches in Rome reflected in the textured cobbled stone after the rains Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas
The anonymity of this provincial city in China is brought out by the slightly rickety electric poles | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
The anonymity of this provincial city in China is brought out by the slightly rickety electric poles Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas

“My process of searching for these images in various layers of the reflective surfaces like glass, metal and water helps me find my own alternate space. This helps further enhance my vision beyond the physical world, transforming it to a poetic perspective through my conscious reaction towards the world that we live in,” says Biswas, who is the founder of Grayscale Academy of Photography and Creative Vision. 

Sidewalks slick with rainwater, reflect the pedestrians with their umbrellas on a typical day in China | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
Sidewalks slick with rainwater, reflect the pedestrians with their umbrellas on a typical day in China Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas
An erotic and contemplative moment of a woman reflected in the mirror of a grand hotel suite in Rome | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
An erotic and contemplative moment of a woman reflected in the mirror of a grand hotel suite in Rome Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas
Sandeep Biswas captures a liquid moment, where the distorted reflection of the building appears to challenge its very solidity | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
Sandeep Biswas captures a liquid moment, where the distorted reflection of the building appears to challenge its very solidity Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas
The New York skyline reflected in the Hudson River, on a bright autumnal evening | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
The New York skyline reflected in the Hudson River, on a bright autumnal evening Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas
Capturing a low angle shot of older Art Deco style buildings reflected in the grand new tower covered in reflective glass | Sandeep Biswas | STIRworld
Capturing a low angle shot of older Art Deco style buildings reflected in the grand new tower covered in reflective glass Image Credit: Sandeep Biswas

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