In India, gay sex is a criminal offence. With its laws, it ostracises and alienates queer minorities, invalidates our experiences, and leaves us naked to homophobic abuse. With its rising intolerance, it reminds us that we are ‘wrong’ every time we dare to love, that our love itself is unnatural. And somewhere in the midst of this din of a million quarrelling voices from both sides of the debate, we lose sight of the beauty and intimacy of our own sex lives.

And so, Pulkit Mogha boldly attempts to clap back against this repression by documenting sexual experiences in a country where it is forbidden. His photo-series is shot heavily on mobile phones, taken spontaneously in the heat of the moment, which lends the imagery a particularly raw, intensely personal, almost voyeuristic tone. He chooses to conceal faces not only because they are a distraction but also to protect the identities of those involved. Mogha’s focus, without exception, is sex and its expressions, and never the people involved.

“I always enjoyed exploring photography with sex,” he says, “I am slowly learning to liberate myself by putting my photos out there.”

In India, the act of rebellion against the system starts in our own bedrooms.

About Photographer:

Pulkit Mogha is a fulltime Architect whose interests foray into issues of gender, sexuality, caste, media, and technology in the city. A graduate from the School of Planning and Architecture with family roots from Uttar Pradesh, he was actively involved as a core member of QueerCampus, one of the only dedicated safe spaces for queer youth in the city at the time. With an interest in photographic queer subjects, he is in the process of coming up with a series linking queer bodies to the city. He maintains an online blog (pulkitmogha.tumblr.com) and is currently based in Delhi.