Imdad Barbhuyan explores intimacy and belonging through the muse of his mother

The Delhi-based photographer questions the meaning of 'home' through his gentle and celebratory image making.

Date
12 December 2022

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The photography of Imdad Barbhuyan is so gentle and refined, you’d be easily mistaken in thinking he’s an artist with decades in the field. Instead, Imdad is a young talent, an exciting self-taught visual artist based out of Delhi, India. “The final photographs are of little significance to me,” Imdad tells It’s Nice That. “I am more enamoured by the process of being in that moment, of having seen something beautiful and then making something of it; to document this physical reality but also to bring out my sentimental embodiment of that experience.”

Now, Imdad works to “erase the presence of the camera” from their work, and invites viewers to see what he sees with his heart. “Having nature as my central theme, I work around ideas of memory, intimacy, desire, loss and grief,” he explains. “I work with ordinary, everyday objects and try to elevate them to something more.” For example, a wine glass is a common motif for the photographer. “The wine glasses are ‘us’, empty and parched and all it takes to be full is to seek the right things,” he says.

Images of his mother and home captured our attention the most. “Through these images of my mother, her hands, her hair and flowers and fruits from our garden, I am trying to talk about intimacy and belonging, celebrating where I come from and creating a visual world of what ‘home’ means to me,” Imdad says. “That’s a question I believe we all keep asking ourselves, throughout our lives.”

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Imdad Barbhuyan: Janu and Benu (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: Red table with flower mother brought from her morning walk (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2021)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: Mustard blossoms from her garden (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2021)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Imdad Barbhuyan: Anatomy of a dried lotus (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan

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Imdad Barbhuyan: My mother and I (Copyright © Imdad Barbhuyan, 2020)

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About the Author

Joey Levenson

Joey is a freelance design, arts and culture writer based in London. They were part of the It’s Nice That team as editorial assistant in 2021, after graduating from King’s College, London. Previously, Joey worked as a writer for numerous fashion and art publications, such as HERO Magazine, Dazed, and Candy Transversal.

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