Homing in on home

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Vicky Roy’s portrayal of home at the Salaam Balak Trust

One’s middle class home in the Walled City made him so miserable that he tried to stay away from it, spending time with friends in south Delhi. While the other is a run-away kid, who made a shelter house in the capital his home.

Photographers Chandan Gomes and Vicky Roy have zoomed in on the idea of “home” at the ongoing exhibition, “Apna Ghar” at Vadehra Art Gallery. The photographers have displayed 26 pictures each, showcasing their homes.
Vicky, who has been working on this concept since the last four years, says that the idea came to him just after his first exhibition “Street Dreams” where he featured the dreams and aspirations of homeless people. “Apna Ghar is a continuation of that. While the former spoke about how even street/ homeless kids can have aspirations, the latter showcases how even in a shelter home strong bonds are formed, emotions conjoined and life is lived together,” says Vicky, whose images show the good times the boys share at Salaam Balak Trust.
Chandan’s objective is a little different though. He turned away from his middle class home, as he was not able to reconcile with the contrast that he faced everyday — while he went to the best school and college and lived his life with the elite, his home was a totally different space. “Emotionally, since I had disconnected myself from my home I never paid attention to whatever went on there. When I grew up I realised I’d lost a lot. This was an effort to get back ‘home’. But my family was averse to the idea of me photographing them, thus the objects attached to them became the way to show them,” says Chandan.
Co-curator Vidya Shivadas, says that the boys had very distinct ideas about their homes, and in the pictures they have shared the intimate relationship that they share with their living zones. “Home has become a key concept for many artists around the world. Many are looking at the larger issues that goes into making a home,” says Vidya, also talking about the two documentaries being screened at the exhibition.
Nishtha Jain, a Mumbai-based filmmaker’s Lakshmi and Me, offers a nuanced look at her home as a shared space. “The film is based on the life of the young girl who works at Nishtha’s house, and the bond she has developed with her. It talks about the invisible imprints of the people and events that makes one’s house a home,” says Vidya.
Samudra Kajal Saikia’s Disposable House becomes a metaphor for security at a time of increased migration, displacement and mobility, thus giving rise to more serious and political questions.
These works are journeys made by artists that have led to the uncovering of underlying connection between people, with objects and spaces, and everything else that make up one’s ghar.