Raghav Kumar
ma photography
RMIT University Melbourne
Graduates: 2023
Specialisms: Photography / Fine Art / Art Direction
My location: Melbourne, Australia
Raghav Kumar
First Name: Raghav
Last Name: Kumar
University / College: RMIT University Melbourne
Course / Program: ma photography
Graduates: 2023
Specialisms: Photography / Fine Art / Art Direction
My Location: Melbourne, Australia
Website: Click To See Website
About
Raghav Kumar is an Indian-born emerging photographer based in Melbourne. His research led practice navigates through the realms of documentary photography, traditional Indian studio portraiture and expanded photography to explore themes of displacement, cultural identity and intergenerational memory. As a descendant to refugees that survived during the Partition of British India (1947), Kumar’s research is driven by his own upbringing in a refugee family to account for inherited memory, inter-generational loss and healing. Through his work, he attempts to revive and use the traditional Indian studio practices to decolonise the photographic lens and reposition its role to tell undocumented histories within his own community.
Kumar completed a degree in Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in Communication design in 2016 at the Nottingham Trent University (England). Later he decided to follow his passion for photography and completed his Masters degree in photography from RMIT University (Melbourne) in 2023. His Master’s project titled ‘All that remained are memories’ received the Dean’s award for academic excellence, NAVA Ignition Award for highest performing Profession Practice and the Seventh Gallery Mentorship Award.
All That Remained Are Memories explores my personal narrative of being raised in a refugee household affected by the Partition of India through documentary photography and old archival imagery. This multi-layered photo essay was made during my two visits to my ancestral home after migrating to Australia and recognises numerous micro-histories within my own family. Presented in the form of a site-specific installation, these contemporary documentary photographs in juxtaposition with archival family images piece together my fragmented perceptions of Home, Memory, and Belonging. This series is a heartfelt reconstruction of my childhood home in Australia, the memories of my parents and my grandparents. Photography emerges as a medium for intergenerational healing in this instance, giving me hope that I make peace with my house and my family’s past to create a fragmented sense of belonging.
Competitions
