Photography: Robi Chakraborty
ROBI CHAKRABORTY
After a career doing both commercial and press photography, I became drawn to exploring the cities and villages of my native India, seeking out and photographing the people whose cultures and ways of life are quickly becoming lost in the contemporary, more homogenized world of today.
Now based in the US but having lived in Africa, Nepal, and India, where much of my work is focused, I have a unique connection to and understanding of my subject matter. As an artist who sees myself as a global citizen, I seek to capture what is culturally familiar to me yet present the image with an appreciation of how an outsider’s eye may see the people and cultures I explore through my work. Rather than solely portraying the novelty, my focus is on presenting humanity and allowing the viewer to relate to the subjects I photograph in a way they otherwise may not experience.
Robi is the recipient of several awards from the International Color Awards, including the Photographer of the Year Award, and was the recipient of the 6th Annual Master Cup for his photo, Off the Ground, depicting a tribal child in (region, India) pushing a cycle rim down a village road. The same photo won the 2015 Directors’ Choice award from Photo Place Gallery Vermont, juried by James P Blair, National Geographic photo editor (Retired). Other awards include the Merit Award in All About Photo Magazine (July 2018) and the Excellence Award in Black & White Magazine (June 2018). Steve McCurry recently awarded Robi 1st place in Travel for The Independent Photographer, 2022.
