Life imitates art and art imitates the daily politics of our lives and identities. Building on these very interpretations comes an engaging photo exhibition ready to involve its viewers into narratives they aren’t used to seeing.
Created by Bhavya Ahuja as a graduation project at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kannur; “Who’s the Freak?” is the inclusive artist’s original photo exhibition, taking their degree in Fashion communication to create an evening of art and conversations for Delhi enthusiasts.
The stills aim to capture fashion and style as an individual’s personal revolution— exploring concepts of identity, gender performance and its relationship with society and the self. The photographs are a collective visual documentation of society’s reactions and behaviour when one chooses to dress up in clothes that may truly reflect their identity and desires of expression. The subjects are set up as those who dare to stand in the middle of the crowd or against it all the while holding their ground.
The idea behind the photographer’s graduation thesis and final project has been the visual documentation of this relationship. In their own words, ‘The idea was to meet and interview as many people who felt fashion is or can be an integral part of who they are.’ They go on to describe their exhibit as a ‘form of expression that deviates from the conventional pseudo moralistic ways of our society. This expression through fashion has been largely forbidden which has caused many of us to continue to live without accepting unconventional sides of ourselves. This has led to bigger problems of suppressed creativity or even identity crisis. For I believe fashion is not just vanity, it has power of self-projection.’
The project comes from a deeply personal place for Ahuja who describes the public scrutiny they went through for their demeanour and choice of personal styling as they grew older, while also reflecting their strong professional belief of inclusivity. The project has been mentored by Adishree Singh, co-founder of AGENC- a curated online and offline platform for fashion, design, art and music
Through calling this exhibition ‘Who’s the freak’, Ahuja is placing their audience in front of the final exasperated WTF question to the cis, the hetero and the ignorant.
You can be a part of the exhibition on the 28th of April 2019 at AGENC CoLab in Dhan Mill Compound, Chhatarpur, New Delhi.
For more of Bhavya Ahuja’s work you can check out- here!
