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Capturing elephants in the wild, through the lens
Famous photographer Akash Das in New Delhi.
From fashion advertisements to wildlife photography, Akash Das has made social conciousness a hallmark of his works. Madhur Tankha speaks to the Delhi-based photographer about the theme of his just-concluded two-part exhibition and much more.
Though he is from the advertising world, wildlife photography is his passion. Delhi-based photographer Akash Das, whose two-part art photography exhibition “Asian Nudes in the Jungle” and “Asian Nudes in the Urban Jungle” concluded in the Capital this past week, says: “I may be a fashion photographer by profession, but my heart lies in wildlife photography.”
In late 1990s, he took a break from work and drove to the Corbett National Park for an excursion. He got so besotted with the rich wildlife that he has been working there extensively for the past eight years. “My specialisation is capturing elephants in the wild.”
His first exhibition “In Search of Asian Nudes” in black and white on the pachyderms was mounted in the Capital in 2005.
“The exhibition broke new grounds in theme as well as stylisation. It was the first solo exhibition on Asian elephants. Actually, a lot of people think that it was wildlife photography. I just don’t document but also give a thought-provoking look and feel of the environment. After this, I hosted the show at an art exhibition in Paris in which I showcased new and some old pictures.”
Stating that his pictures have a message for discerning art lovers, he says: “The black and white photographs are a unique amalgamation of art and wildlife photography. The images are reminiscent of the highly finished and intricately detailed etchings by old masters. Photographed in their natural habitat, the elephants appear just as beautiful as the hundreds of beautiful models I have launched in my long advertising career.”
Akash says his photo exhibitions were aimed at creating awareness among city-dwellers about the rich flora and fauna of the country and the increasing threat of poaching and encroachment on animal habitat. “Actually it is humans who are encroaching upon the homes of animals. Through my pictures, I want to convey the significance of preserving our natural environment in the wild,” adds Akash, who has won dozens of national and international awards.
Pointing out that he had evolved as a professional photographer, he says: “At Corbett, I saw how elephants interact, seen their compassion and observed male tuskers fighting each other. One picture that I featured in my exhibition is of two males grappling with each other for supremacy. Only one male can be the dominant one and mate with other females. So the two bulls fought each other for five days, not continuously though, before one of them lost its life.”
Defending his decision to use the word nude for elephants, Akash says in Indian weddings, circuses and ceremonies pachyderms were often decorated with bright and colourful clothes. “But in the jungle the pachyderms don’t wear any clothes. Though they are wild from outside they are beautiful from inside. Besides Corbett, I have also captured tigers and elephants on my camera in Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh.”
He was instrumental in changing the look of Indian advertising, particularly fashion ads. Social consciousness has been a hallmark of his works.
“Even in the commercialised world of advertising, I have tried to introduce socially conscious images. In the 1990s, I did an AIDS campaign in which the message was that it was a disease of the mind. It was aimed at reaching out to males who don’t use contraceptives. So I wanted to open their minds and tell them that you don’t catch the deadly disease through touch. The campaign created a lot of ruckus. Then I did a campaign for a jeans brand in which I showed two males and two females standing in a group. Some people thought that it was freedom to choose your partner.”
Akash says he discovered actors Mallika Sherawat and Shiny Ahuja and model Marc Robinson. “Mallika did an ad for a sauce company and Marc did his first Blue Lagoon jeans ad with me.”
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