The French city of Arles becomes a Provençal headquarters for fine art photography every summer, as the “Rencontres d’Arles” festival brings together imagery from all over the world through dozens of exhibitions, screenings and events. We sit down with Mitch Epstein, who tells us about revisiting the pictures that make up “In India: 1978-1989”.
The photographer built up this body of work as a young visitor to India in what he describes as a “thrilling but also daunting” experience. Epstein explains how he crossed the so-called cultural border and immersed himself in local life in this “beautiful exchange”. And we discuss how his work with ex-wife Mira Nair on the films India Cabaret and Salaam Bombay informed his photographic practice.
We also take a look at the work of up-and-coming photographer Maya-Inès Touam, who explores the legacy of her Algerian ancestors, and veteran artist James Barnor, whose iconic images of post-colonial Accra and London have secured his place in the photographic canon.
