The light of darkness

Noida, the National Capital Region's rapidly growing suburb, comes alive in Dhruv Malhotra's debut exhibition, writes Shalini Singh.

Noida, the National Capital Region's rapidly growing suburb, comes alive in Dhruv Malhotra's debut exhibition.

HT Image

This body of colour photographs — titled Noida Soliloquy — by the Jaipur-born photographer, 24, took three years to complete after he shifted to Noida from Mumbai.

"The specifics of the place began to strike me — Noida is an in-between zone, constructed plots alongside vacant ones…"

The context is a developing urban space, he explains, which could be anywhere in the country.

This self-taught insomniac photographer has used a medium format film camera to capture public parks, dark alleys and bridges of the suburb during the nights.

"The ambiguity of darkness and shadows makes the night come alive. I try to look at dark spaces in terms of what they reveal," he says.

From rabbits holding dustbins in parks to stark wires spread across a dusky sky, this young photographer has clicked 'em all, with long exposures.

On till June 12 at Photoink, MGF Hyundai building, ground floor, 1 Jhandewalan, Faiz Road, New Delhi