Saadiya Kochar

Saadiya Kochar is an Indian woman photographer[1] and solo traveller.[2] Her works can be broadly classified into art and social documentary photography, although she dabbles into portraiture, street and fashion as well.

Early years and education

Saadiya was born into a Sikh family. Her birthplace is Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir. Kochar's education was from a missionary school, Convent of Jesus and Mary in Delhi but she never went to a regular college. Having studied mass communication, from Sri Aurobindo Institute of Mass communication she went on to study at Triveni Kala Sangam, under world renowned artist O. P. Sharma, a photographer famous for black and white images.[3] She got a diploma in photography from ICPP, Australia.

Career

When she was 24, this Indian photographer published her first book, Being.....[4]

Kochar, has worked in Kashmir for over a decade,[5] has taught photography at the Pearl Academy of Fashion and is the creative head of astudio, in Delhi. In 2012, she organised a solo show, in New Delhi, of her images from Kashmir, titled Loss. Saadiya has shown her photographs through a few solo shows, earlier as well, titled- Being...( thoughts, emotions and self-discovery displayed through the body), Zikr-the remembrance (Sufi practices)[6] has been a part of a number of group shows, in India as well as abroad. {Saadiya Kochar Being.Daring in black and white A book on the human form was released in 2004. Kochar has worked on a short video art project called Loss, about the troubles faced by Kashmiri Muslims and the Kashmiri Pandits. She continues to travel and work in Kashmir.[7]

In 2013, she began a blog about her personal journey as a single, female photographer, navigating through the city, archiving her experiences of loss and longing, through photographs and writings A 100 pieces of me-project. In 2017, she travelled through India by herself, covering the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Corridors. The project Road Tripping-Photowalli Gaadee is a pan India project that made its debut at the India Art Fair in a group show and at Cafe De Art in a solo one.

References

  1. ^ Adak, Baishali (19 December 2012). "A story of loss". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Saadiya Kochar". Forms of Devotion. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  3. ^ Chatterjee, Pramit (19 August 2020). "Twitter Celebrates World Photography Day With Mesmerising Pictures". Mashable India. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  4. ^ Vasudev, Shefalee (9 February 2004). "24-year-old Saadiya Kochar frames 15 years of her life in a book of photographs". India Today. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  5. ^ Sneha Bhura (22 February 2020). "The shape of dissent". The Week.
  6. ^ "Saadiya Kochar at The Attic in Connaught Place during her photography, 'ZIKR - The Remembrance'". Getty Images. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  7. ^ "A story of loss". Deccan Herald. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2020.