Komu: Sorry, I’m late. I was busy with prints of photographs for my show. (Mark Him, a collection of pictures on the Indian football team is on display at the Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai)

Sabavala: Photographs? I had no idea you did photography too. Is it different from what you do while painting? I would imagine that you would not want to approach your photographs the same way you do your paintings.

Komu: Naturally, the approach is different. I have in fact shown my photographs before, an exhibition in Spain that was also displayed in India. Do you remember? 

Sabavala: Yes, I remember now. I do enjoy the works of some photographers like Ketki Seth and Probir Gupta. Often, though, I find the preoccupation with the underbelly of the city a little disconcerting.
This celebration of the cult of the grotesque is not for me. I do like aesthetic beauty. What do you think?

Komu: For me, the city is certainly a major source of inspiration. It represents the here and now. I do feel that the responsibility of a generation is on our shoulders and our aesthetics may be governed by different factors. It’s important for me to reflect my times. It really depends on how well the artist, the photographer or the installation artist is able to convey these concerns. For me, the works of Francis Alluzi encapsulate this well. He uses images of the roadside shoe-polish boy and synchronises it with classical music to bring about the interface of different economic groups. It’s succinct and clever.

... contd.