Sheetal Mallar: People, Spaces & Communities

A model at first, Sheetal Mallar engaged and flirted with the camera way before she began seeing through it. With a “sketchbook and a small camera” accompanying her on all her modelling assignments, she captured beauti- ful memories. It was this love of recording moments that led her to pursue taking photographs rather than being photographed. I connected with her to know more about her subjects and her recent series, Sheetal - Savio Diaries.
 

When did your romance with the camera begin?
I have been sketching and painting since I was a little girl. I was drawn to the visual medium, from paintings and movies, to photographs and graphic art. My first career as a model, that started in my teens, made me travel extensively. I always had a camera with me — a point and shoot, then the film cameras, the automatic, et cetera. I had this desire to record memories. I felt it would be a shame to not capture some of my experiences for my albums. My sketchbook and a small camera were always a part of my luggage. So I guess the romance with the camera had begun way before I realized. Much later, when I transitioned into the second phase of my life, it felt natural to continue exploring this medium.

What draws you towards your subjects?
I mostly document stories that move me, my experiences or the experiences I want to have. The last year has been challenging, to put it mildly. It has made me re-evaluate many choices. I have realized that it’s important to live in a community that you feel connected to and want to be a part of. Being a city folk and someone who travels, I realized that I haven’t paid much attention to things that matter, like my neighbourhood. The kind of interpersonal relationships we have with people who live close to us, the environment you choose to live in and what it can offer, has taken on a new meaning. This got me thinking again of a feeling that has lingered in the last few years, of being a meaningful part of a community. Why do we choose to live where we live? Where do I need to be to be happy? Creating work that reflects these feelings feels more relevant now.

Sheetal - Savio Diaries is a beautiful narrative you’ve created during the pandemic year. What inspired you to tell these stories?
Savio and I go back a long way. I shot this series in Goa since both of us love the city. He wanted to shoot his collection and I wanted to make stories. So we collaborated on this home series. The earthiness of Goa and what it evokes in me, are somehow intertwined in the work. I see ou friends in the little worlds they have created through this lens. I wanted it to be like a page in my diary, with a little something about each friend in the spaces they inhabit. It’s been a wonderful experience doing this with Savio. These harmonious collaborations with like-minded friends are satisfying for the soul and make the journey more meaningful.

What was your curatorial process like for the series?
For this series, I have shot friends mutual to me and Savio. Our friends include models, artists, a chef, a shopkeeper, jewellery and clothes designers, et cetera. Most live in spaces that have a lot of character. I was looking for dif- ferent kinds of family structures as well, to make it whole- some. It’s wonderful to shoot with friends. I discovered that during my personal project Alone Together. There is a level of sincerity and vulnerability that comes through, that’s tough to achieve with strangers. Telling these kinds of stories about friendships and feeling home, is what I feel drawn to right now.

Lastly, as an artist what kind of stories do you want to tell?
I think I am drawn to stories of people, spaces and communities. They could be stories of abandoned spaces, spaces devoid of people. Stories of friends who have moved away and their new friends from their new life. I am interested in why they choose to live in one place and not the other. I am intrigued by the choice of spaces they want to call home and their families that follow them. The way we are always looking to be part of communities. These are some of the questions I am probably seeking for answers myself. The work becomes my pursuit for the answers. I am interested in revealing these layers that form the familiar ground between us.

This conversation is an all exclusive from our August EZ. To read more from the monthly zine click here.