This photography book captures beauty, hidden in plain sight

A kind face in a windowldquoThis image was taken outside Leh in 2018 at the house of a coppersmith who makes utensils to sell in the local market He has his ancestorsrsquo photo put in a glass cabinet and I think itrsquos a common thread in most Indian homes to have framed or unframed photos of generations I love the colour coordination in this image toordquoA braid of combsldquoPhotographed at a nomadic embroidererrsquos home in Kutch 2022 It was really interesting for me to see how they had so many combs maybe for each member of the family very practically organised The homes were pretty small so I liked how they made use of the spacerdquoA bridal show of handsldquoShot outside a localrsquos house in the weaverrsquos colony in Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh 2019 I love the symbolism of vermillion and how every bride who is married into the house would stamp this at the entrance of the houserdquoCool kicks DadajildquoShot in Old Town Amritsar in 2019 I thought he had a cool personal style as he wore sneakers which are so functional for his profession rickshawpuller but teamed with a traditional turban and dhoti that expresses his religious identityrdquoWhen the office is also a nap roomldquoJohri Bazaar Jaipur 2022 This may be my favourite shop in the bazaar that belongs to money lenders who only open after 11 am and take long siestas in the afternoon The green paint on the little doors leading to a hidden room to the bold use of green and red terrazzo and the many photos of ancestors create this ambience that one would find in many old bazaarsrdquoA bedroom out of history pagesldquoMandawa in Rajasthanrsquos Shekhawati region 2022 I absolutely loved the warm colours in the room and the bold use of maximalist patterns to compliment these colours Shekhawati region is known for its frescos however this was somebodyrsquos bedroom and I wondered how one sleeps with such an overload of visualsrdquolsquoI hope to decolonise the global gaze on Indian designrsquoSayali GoyalFrom the minimalistic and practical design of humble homes to maximalist floral murals in havelis from scenes of people at work in a town bazaar to gentle depictions of men and women caught in a moment of rest Sayali Goyal captures aesthetic appeal in everyday scenes in India that most others might pass by without noticing Sunday midday speaks to the artistanthropologist to learn what inspires her photographyThe breadth of the photography in the book is immense how many years and trips did it take you to develop itI started to travel in 2016 in India and have travelled for at least 120 days each year This work is a curated archive of the last eight years The original repository for the images for over a lakh photos but the archiving was done mindfully to bring the key themes to the forefront and cover the diversity of aesthetics India has to offer shedding light on many multigenerational objects regional identities eras of architectural styles multiple materials symbolism and vernacular designsHow would you describe your photography style And how would you say your background in anthropology and art have informed your photography I think my style is intuitive and focused I donrsquot like to carry the weight of a highly technical camera as I think it takes away from the moment and subject of the photo In ethnographic documentation itrsquos really important to make sure you are involving your subjectsmdashboth the environment and peoplemdashas they are and sometimes a large professional camera takes away from the originality of the setting So I use a phone camera to capture the essence of things in their original form without staging anythingI think anthropological understanding allowed me to see the multiple meaning of things and how people use ldquoeveryday aestheticrdquo to express themselves tell their individual stories consciously or unconsciously to connect these elements of design to themes of identity diversity intercity migration cross cultural connections and heritage intangible and tangible preservation There are so many layers to each image and as an anthropologist this book becomes a cultural dictionary for meWhat is it you seek to convey through your photographyI hope to open peoplersquos minds to the beautiful chaos that surrounds us and own this reality of ours and celebrate it I hope to decolonise the global gaze on Indian design and acknowledge our vast contribution that is beyond just a few design movements that are acknowledged I hope people connect to the nostalgic elements of the book and find comfort through these visuals that hold the past I hope people use this abundant inspiration and make new design decisions that are rooted in IndiannessImages excerpted with permission from Everyday Indian Aesthetic by Sayali Goyal Roli Books