Visual artist Craig Boehman: ‘Mumbai has been the most warm and welcoming place on the streets’

Mumbai-based American visual artist Craig Boehman. (Courtesy the artist)

American visual artist Craig Boehman who has been living in Mumbai for the last 10 years can often be spotted on the city’s streets, capturing people as they go about their daily lives. On March 18, the photographer will release a limited edition run of fine art photography prints from his Aksa Collection, with two versions of each image — a limited edition run of 21 for the small prints and a limited edition run of three for the large print versions. Boehman, who is married to Sacred Games composer Alokananda Dasgupta, has used a special technique called Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) for the images captured at Aksa Beach. There’s also a fun photography scavenger hunt planned for the event where the winner can take home a small limited-edition print. Edited excerpts from an interview:

'Dance for the Dead', by Craig Boehman. (Photo courtesy the artist)

Tell us why you have named this the Aksa Collection and why is it special?

All these images were shot at Aksa beach. I’m not much into beaches but there are a couple I go to regularly in order to photograph. I just happened to be trying out a new technique in photography and it turned out that Aksa Beach was perfect because there were so many people just crammed along the shoreline. I had never seen that even at Juhu beach! It all happened at a time when I was experimenting with a new form of photography and that eventually led to me jumping ship from photography to the world of fine art photography prints, which is a completely different space. I’m at the very bottom of understanding how it all works. In that sense, this location means a lot to me; it’s like a new beginning.

'Discovery', by Craig Boehman. (Photo courtesy the artist)

Can you share some more information about the photography technique you have used and how long did it take for you to come up with these prints?

I visited Aksa Beach around two or three times which does not sound like a lot but I clicked around 2,000-2,500 pictures in order to get those that actually work. I used the Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) which is where you use a slow shutter speed and then jiggle the camera to get these abstract images that are kind of blurry. I had thousands of images after those three sessions and had to pare them down to the ones I wanted. It took three sessions and a few hours of shooting but then it was just hours and hours of combing through and then experimenting with them.

'Down by the Sea', by Craig Boehman. (Photo courtesy the artist)

And all these are limited edition prints…

For me, it was about getting out of the digital space and wanting to create physical pieces which is where the printmaking comes in. I met this great printmaker and he introduced me to this new world which is so different from the world of photography. It is also about getting the right kind of paper. I have been trying to figure all this out in the last year-and-a-half. The limited-edition run fits right in there. The prints are on Hahnemuhle archival paper which is expensive and prints look really nice on them.

'Distant Dream', by Craig Boehman. (Photo courtesy the artist)

You are a street photographer and, in a city like Mumbai, it is difficult to click pictures without people in them. Have you ever faced any issues?

Oddly enough, in India and Mumbai in particular, it is not really an issue. I get very little heat from people here as compared to the West, such as Europe or the US, where there would probably be a confrontation every other week. Here, people are so warm and welcoming in general, which sometimes works against me because I don’t want people interacting with me generally. I like candid pictures. Mumbai has been the most warm and welcoming place on the streets. I asked someone about it once and they said that there are so many immigrants here, it’s almost like everyone is on their best behaviour and maybe it’s become part of their culture. But I also think people here have bigger problems to worry about than just some photographer walking amid them.

'Hydrate', by Craig Boehman. (Photo courtesy the artist)

The Aksa Collection release will take place on March 18, 12 pm, at Drifter’s Café & Bar, Bandra.