In… Times is a series of staged/performative photographic works conceived in response to the unimaginable period brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The coerced social distancing norms in fear of contracting the virus have massively changed the world order, questioning the very meaning of what was previously considered normal.
The well-furnished cosy interior and the desolate landscape denote the stark contrast between our insatiable greed for resources and the indispensable need for our planet’s survival. The masked character in a fabricated costume obscures the real identity of the artist. By using visual cues with personal as well as universal symbolism attached, Galhotra augments the fear of an unprecedented age of viruses and the resulting isolation amongst humans. Speculating the dystopian ‘new normality’ of our recent future, Galhotra’s visuals are suggestive of industrialist encroachment on serene nature and the nature’s defence mechanism to halt such aggressive human activity.
For collaboration on dress-design, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna are to be acknowledged, and likewise Rajesh Kumar Sinha for his work behind the camera.