Touted as a space for artists, Kaladham complex in Greater Noida is where you will meet creative minds from across disciplines. Exclusively promoted by the government to foster an environment where the city’s art community can learn and grow together, this place houses several studios of prominent artists and singers. Amid this expanse that is bustling with creativity, you will find Avinash Aggarwal, a visual arts practitioner who focuses on reviving analogue and alternative forms of photography at Studio A89.
Focusing on experimentation
After decades of working as a product and industry photographer, Greater Noida resident Aggarwal (69) decided to revisit analogue photography in 2017. In fact, he mentions that back in the 1970s, his primary training was in the same medium. “Even though I was working commercially, I wanted to experiment with analogue all this while,” says the artist. The Studio, as Avinash’s daughter Aditi Aggarwal—she helps him manage the work—explains, is an attempt at “researching alternatives [forms of image making] and creating a working space for discourse as well as to establish a platform that stimulates and expands creative inquiry and collaboration.”
Taking his creative pursuits and artistic explorations forward, Avinash also set up an Instagram page (@studio_a89) early this year. Scroll through the page and you will find posts with several prints he has produced in the studio. There is also a series of notes made from the texts he has read about the history of photography and the analogue medium. “I like to read a lot and discuss with Aditi; she later puts it up on the page,” he says. Studio A89’s Instagram page mostly traces his journey of experimenting with cyanotype—one of the oldest photographic printing processes that involves placing a negative image on a treated paper, fabric, or any other surface; the image later develops under light. Avinash has also tried his hand at other alternative processes as well such as Gumoil Print (a method for producing photos with gum, chromium salts, and oil paints); Van Dyke Brown Print (a printing process wherein a canvas coated with ferric ammonium citrate, tartaric acid, and silver nitrate is exposed to light); Pinhole Camera Print (another process that uses a pin-hole camera to create an image), etc.
A work of passion
The camera is considered the sole tool of a photographer. Avinash’s approach, however, is to focus on promoting cameraless photography—an experimental process that goes beyond conventional standards. “History tells us that photography is, by no means, dependent on the camera… this [cameraless photography] is photography in its most primal state,” reads one of Avinash’s notes on his social media page.
As these techniques challenge the existing understanding of photography, one can be placed in the realm of art. “Alternative forms of photography help blur the line between photography and drawing. Analogue [photography] is purely handmade; every analogue print is one of a kind… it is nothing short of art,” adds Aditi (34), a visual artist. Avinash also organises visits and workshops for students and enthusiasts. “These mediums are something that even mainstream photographers do not know about as it is not very accessible, but people are willing to learn about it,” shares Aditi, adding that they look forward to formalising their workshop schedule soon.