Engaging with the themes of masculinity, identity, representations of the nation and globalisation through his work, photographer Bharat Sikka has been a consequential figure in contemporary lens-based practice in India. Before pursuing his BFA in photography from the Parson’s School of Design, New York, Sikka had developed an interest in capturing the cultural and social environment of India; this interest only solidified once he returned to India after graduating in 2002.

His series Indian Men (2003) was an attempt to depict men beyond conventional stereotypes, turning towards the older men among his family and friends in India. To Sikka’s eyes these men reflected a sense of quiet dignity, humour and loneliness which he wanted to capture.

His ten-year-long project titled Matter (2011), which emerged from his earlier series Spaces in Between (2004), explored a rapidly globalising India alongside economic stagnation aiming to document the ambiguity of what was viewed as development at the time. In Matter modernity and tradition were in conflict with each other and his deliberate choice to keep the images largely monochromatic was to counter the popular representation of India as colourful and vibrant.

Sikka’s series Where the Flowers Still Grow (2014–15) was inspired by Mirza Waheed’s novel The Collaborator (2011). Here, Sikka focused on Kashmiri men, solitarily posing against the breathtaking landscape of the region; his intention was to avoid direct engagement with the conflict in Kashmir and depict people living on their land. The series was also published as a photobook of the same name in 2017.