1. What is your earliest memory of how or what attracted you to photography?
During my vacations from boarding school, one of my favorite pastimes used to be to look at my mother’s carefully stored photo albums. Her family had lived in a village in eastern Nepal, and they were well documented photographically. Hers was a big joint family. I even found a photo of her great grandfather and great grandmother. Apparently, they had taken it in Darjeeling. Now that I look back, she had narrativised those albums. Photos of her almost entire clan – her mother, aunts, sisters-in-law, grandfather, father, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, and nieces along with her friends. Albums had group and individual portraits. I think she got it from her home when she got married. But what I can’t forget even now is seeing photos of my mother wearing miniskirts and trousers, with her friends. I used to wonder why she never wore them any more.
Over a period of time, my parents kept moving around Nepal for their jobs and now those albums have faded and many were lost along the way. I only have memories of them. Honestly, I never thought I would ever take up photography. Growing up in a middle-class household means you study and get a job. And I have vivid memories of my father saying how he always wanted to become a writer but he had a family to take care of. This was something that has always stayed with me. Even now my parents don’t understand what I do.
2. Did you study photography formally in a college or university? If so, what was your experience? If not, how did you inform yourself about the medium – the techniques, the language and the aesthetics of it?
My initial training in photography focused more on its technical aspects than on the art of storytelling. It was only through various workshops in Nepal and beyond, that I discovered how images, when strung together, can be used to tell stories.
One of the best things in Nepal is the community of photographers that Nayantara has nurtured over the years with much passion, love, and care. She is truly inspirational! It is so different when women helm institutions. I am grateful to be a part of this growing community. Earlier, I used to only think about myself, and here we are constantly having conversations in and around photography. Recently, during the lockdown period, we started a reading group where practicing photographers come together to read, write, discuss, debate, and ideate on various aspects of photography.
3. If you were to design a photo program for young Nepalese photographers, what would it look like? Would it be a degree course? Workshop format? Mentorships?
These days I am thinking more in terms of unstructured ways of learning – ways that are beyond an institutionalized structure of photography and art. But I am still trying to understand what unstructured means. Is it ever possible to be unstructured? Can we learn by way of conversations and following our intuitions? Can there be a course which is about photography but we discuss something else and not photography per se? I also think it’s important to make sociology, literature, psychology, philosophy, and writing more accessible to photographers, but when I say all this a structure is being formed, no?
4. After completing your Masters in Sociology from JNU, what pushed you towards photography?
It wasn’t directly after my master’s that I moved to photography. I worked as a researcher for some years, which took me around Nepal and that was the time I got a point-and-shoot and started taking photos. I really wanted to pursue academics but failed miserably. Somehow I jumped into photography without thinking too much. I was so confident that I had a knack for visuals! I didn’t have an understanding back then that it would take me many years to hone my skills as a photographer and a storyteller. I still have so much to learn. And I hope, in the process, I am able to merge sociology in my work.
5. Who or what has inspired you to pursue photography and/or continues to do so?
Photography to me happened by accident and I am so glad it happened! When I was working as a researcher, my work took me to different parts of Nepal and that was the first time I got a camera and I started taking photos. I really enjoyed it. This was in 2007. However, my deepest desire then was to pursue academics – to add that title of Ph.D. in front of my name – but more than that it was a need to run away from home. Over a period of time, I understood that, with my limited vocabulary and writing skills I wasn’t made for academia, and that it was too theoretical and dry! Of course, theories are important too. These days I am trying to catch up and read, not because I have to, but I want to. So, it was in 2007 when I chanced upon photography with a point-and-shoot camera, however, it was only in 2014 that I took it up professionally. Sometimes I wonder if photography is an escape, too. I have found a medium through which I can express myself.
Another important part in my journey has been how I have always found people around me, especially my friends and mentors, who have encouraged and supported me in one way or the other. I don’t know what I would have done without them. My family, especially my brother, is supportive, but seeing how unstable photography can be financially, my parents were extremely worried for me.
6. Is there a book, exhibition or body of work that has really impressed you and maybe influenced your work / life?
I can’t pinpoint one book or work. Over the past few years, I am more interested in looking at work made in the South Asian region and that too by women. I feel women are taking more risks and asking important and pertinent questions. The work coming out in this region is so powerful – Salma Abedin Prithi, Sadia Mariam, Uma Bista, Thuma Collective, and Nida Mehboob come to my mind, if I were to name a few. Dayanita Singh because of her long-term commitment to photography, something I aspire to. She keeps challenging the medium. Imagine being a woman photographer in the ’80s, that too in India! She carved out her own path and did her own thing. Young photographers and artists whom I get to mentor every once in a while are also sometimes a huge inspiration.
7. What draws / drew you to the subject matter you are pursuing in your current work?
I have always been reminded that I am a girl or a woman, and that I have to behave in a certain manner. From the way you sit, eat, dress, talk, or laugh – everything is scripted; the dos and don’ts are clearly laid out. And I have always hated this. What happens if women like me don’t fit in the story that is already created for them? I started using photography as a way to express my suffocation. My work titled Confrontations stems from this suffocation.
8. You exhibited your series Confrontations at Photo Kathmandu in a public courtyard that houses a temple and belongs to the local Newar community. What were the reactions of the people, the community, and the public at large, given the sensitive subject matter and the social taboos associated with it? Has it brought about any desired change?
It would be naive of me to believe that one exhibition can bring about an immediate change. Change takes time. I still remember when we went to the community women to seek their permission for displaying the exhibition, they asked me if it is possible to remove some photos and when I asked why, they said that it might offend men. I asked them why do we always have to sensor ourselves to please men and haven’t we been doing this forever? This made them think. They gave me the space because I think they could sense my urgency. I felt it was urgent for me to talk about these issues. But that being said, I hope it started some conversations. Though I also feel we need to think about how to have sustained conversations and dialogues.
9. Confrontations, while on exhibit at Photo Kathmandu, was also a part of its arts and education program, wherein school children were given guided tours to engage with your photographs. Can you describe this intervention and its success?
Photo Kathmandu is so much more than just about photo exhibitions. It’s about creating conversations with society. It was wonderful to interact with students who were curious and invested. They asked me questions not just about the photographs, but the topics that I was trying to address like marriage, menstruation, the body, amongst others. Talking about these issues is so rare, as most of the time we shove these issues under the carpet. My hope was that these children would go back home and to the school with more questions, and I hope they ask questions to the world. Like I said before, it would be very naive of me to think that one work can change things, but I hope somehow it encourages them to express themselves.
10. What has your family’s response been to your work Confrontations? Do they now empathize, support, and understand your engagement with various aspects of womanhood, which are taboo in Nepalese society?
My mother thinks life and art should be separate and I think the opposite. She came for the exhibition and the experience wasn’t easy for her. Later she told me that she may not agree with me but she is still proud of me. For her, it is always about what people will say! She still thinks that I should get married.
And my father was the first person I shared Confrontations with. The only thing he told me was to do what I have to. And my brother has been extremely supportive for as long as I remember. I am extremely fortunate to have a family that finally lets me be, but I have also had to fight for my freedom and I have been stubborn in my ways.
11. Do your projects typically run in parallel, or do you focus on one project at a time?
It’s very difficult for me to multi-task, as a result I can’t work on too many things at one point. I need the headspace. I remember when I started making work on Confrontations consciously back in 2017, I had a certain flow – I would experiment and I was not afraid to try various things. Then there came a point where everything felt repetitive. I just didn’t know what to do next. I think I am now finding my way back to the work again.
12. How do you measure success or that a body of work is going well?
I think it is very important to have a few people you can trust when it comes to your work – people who can give you their honest feedback. I am lucky to have people and a very engaged community in Nepal with whom I can share my work. I don’t know if there is one way to measure the success of your work but when you have been doing it for a while you know instinctively when something starts to brew.
13. Do you ever find yourself creatively ‘stuck?’ Is there something that is particularly helpful to you in overcoming this?
Oh, I am always finding myself stuck! And I don’t know if there is one thing that works. The key I believe is to not stop making photographs. I think we should not beat ourselves if we are stuck. More often than not we all get in a rut. It’s also a part of the process. We are too fixated with the outcomes. When I found myself stuck, I took a break from Confrontations and pursued other stories and explored new media. Perhaps one could read, write, and reflect. And it always helps to have a mentor.
14. How much effort do you put into getting your work shown? Is this important to you? Does showing your work feed your creative process, or does it distract you from it?
Not much. Though I wish I put more effort into showing the work. I think it’s a kind of work that needs to be shown but, that being said, a part of me wants to hoard it and not share. It’s a contradiction! I guess because I started photography a bit late in life, I feel insecure; however, I am learning to let go. I think attention gives validation, and all of us seek that, but maybe we shouldn’t take it too seriously.
When I showed Confrontations in Kathmandu, I realized the value in it when people came to me and said that they had brought their daughters, sons, friends, fathers, mothers, aunts, and lovers to see the exhibition. The work looks at menstruation, marriage, body, shame and violence, among other such issues. These aren’t things we normally talk about in our society. It also explores my relationship with my mother, who was brought up with certain kinds of value systems. Since she never questioned the value systems she was brought up by, it’s difficult for her to come to terms with the way I live my life.
15. Do you feel that there are adequate opportunities and avenues to share / show your work in your home country, or do you always look for such opportunities abroad?
Yes, with a platform like photo.circle in Nepal, there are adequate opportunities here. Still, for some reason we desperately seek validation from abroad and I keep questioning, “Why?” Maybe it is because the power centers lie there. I hope that changes with time.
16. We know that fine art or documentary photography is not always enough to make a living. Some do commercial work, others teach. Are there other photography related areas that you work with in order to supplement your living? Some that you would recommend aspiring photographers might consider?
Sometimes I wish there was a system where we could support each other financially – a fund for creatives of sorts. But alas! I have had my struggles for many years and somehow I floated through by doing whatever opportunities were available to me. Currently, I work with photo.circle’s educational initiatives and as a researcher for Nepal Picture Library.
My advice would simply be to figure out a way to make a living with photography or without it by whatever comes your way in order to continue being a photographer. Also, don’t hesitate to ask for help around you. Everyone’s journey is different.
17. Digital technology has changed photography drastically over the last few years. Did you initially embrace the changes or resist them? Do you believe the changes have been good for the medium or not? Or has your experience in photography been only in the digital medium?
More than the media, I think we should ask what we are using it for. The fact that it is more accessible has made it possible for so many voices to exist. It has opened so many possibilities. Perhaps, if it were only film, it would be limited to a certain class of practitioners only. My experience has been in the digital medium from the beginning and it has allowed me to totally express myself, which might not have been the case if it was only film. Hopefully, I will be able to use film some day.
18. Do you think there is a universal language that photography uses? Do you think that Nepalese photographers are finding that they are judged by western criteria and standards?
I don’t know what the western criteria and standards are, to be very honest. Is the west one category? The beauty of photography is that it is so immediate and can be universal in its language; yet we all come from different socio-political-cultural backgrounds. This will, of course, make some work more contextual than the other and hence it might get overlooked.
19. How has it been for you living through this lockdown period and the pandemic in terms of your practice and /or producing work?
One wonders as to where 2020 has gone – is what my feeling is at the moment. During the initial days of the lockdown, I wasn’t in a good space though I did try to channel my energy into making work. I am still not quite sure if anything came out of it, and perhaps that’s not so important. For the latter part of the lockdown period, I have been quite active coordinating different work-related activities (I never thought I could be the coordinating kind), and trying to hone my reading and writing skills. I am part of various reading groups and workshops among others.
20. How would an interested collector go about buying your work?
To be very honest, I haven’t sold my work, yet. I have to think this through. The best would be to get in touch with me directly. (dhungana.bunu@gmail.com)
21. If you didn’t do photography, what other career might you have pursued?
I can’t think of anything else at this moment. It’s as if all my life I was looking to express myself as I have always struggled with words. I think that, in photography, I have found a language.
Copyright © 2021, PhotoSouthAsia. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © Bunu Dhungana
20 November
