Dayanita Singh

Dayanita Singh, a self-described “bookmaker who works with photography,” is best known for her portraits of India’s urban elite and middle class. In making her books, she approaches each series as a total narrative rather than a compilation of individual experiences. One of the most significant Indian photographers of her generation, Singh established her reputation working primarily in black-and-white, though she has recently turned to lush color photography to investigate the play of light and shadow in un-peopled, anonymous spaces. In “Dream Villa” (2010), Singh explores the way the night transforms everyday experiences into something sinister and mysterious. She traveled back to the urban spaces that she has previously explored in black-and-white photography and reinvestigated them in color, capturing heavy shadows, rich hues, and eerie light effects that imbue the works with an element of fantasy.