HARK1KARAN
Festival Speaker
Hark1karan by Nahwand Jaff
Hark1karan is a community photographer and outsider artist. He takes photos of Punjabis, Sikhs, and various aspects of London culture.
Day Out With The Girls - Feb 2020 ©Hark1karan
His first two books PIND (2020) - a meditative and human portrayal of life in his ancestral village Bir Kalan, and KISAAN (2022) - documenting the Farmer’s protests that took place over 2020 and 2021, were both self-published and shot in Punjab, India.
PIND - Portrait of a Village in Rural Punjab (2016-2018) ©Hark1karan
KISAAN 2021 ©Hark1karan
He also released a two-part mini-documentary called ‘Zimmers of Southall’ - documenting the BMW subculture amongst the Asian youth in Southall shot in West London 2022/2023).
Zimmers of Southall (2020-2021) ©Hark1karan
His third photobook Grass Roots came out on Out of Place Books focusing on the Punjabi allotment community in Smethwick.
Smethwick Allotments ©Hark1karan
2023 also saw his photography and documentary work feature at the Venice Biennale as part of the British entry, contributing to the film Dancing with The Moon.
What makes his work unique and distinct is his collaboration with the people from his communities. This allows him to capture photos with closeness and care, offering the viewer a different perspective.
