Hip and hop through the lens

Embracing ideas

In what can be called the coming together of the art world, the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan hosted a rendezvous of 12 artists as part of its ‘BangaloResidency’ programme. These talented artists will spend the next couple of months in Bengaluru and interact with the local arts community for their individual projects. One such artist, Paul Hutchinson, is here to study the youth culture and hip-hop scene.

The young and enthusiastic photographer from Berlin says that he is here to answer a question he asked himself — ‘How does Bengaluru function?’. With this visit being his second time in India — having travelled all around the North earlier — he adds, “Bengaluru is very welcoming and supportive, and has a curious bunch of people. The people are so nice and are willing to help you when you’re lost. They are immensely co-operative and that gives me the encouragement to work further.”

Having studied in the University of the Arts Berlin and Central Saint Martins University of Art and Design, London, the tender coconut fan is here to study how hip-hop has evolved over the years. He recalls, “I am fascinated and intrigued by this genre as I myself was deeply involved with hip-hop music in my teenage years. I grew up in post fall-of-the-wall Berlin, and for me and my friends the thick bass thuds, the mechanic snares and cold rhythmic speech of hip-hop music provided a haven from everyday teenage problems. I just had to reach down my baggy pants, press play on my anti-shock discman and was able to tune my surroundings down a little. Sometimes this saved me.”

He, however, tries to avoid the usual pretence and visual clichés that are associated with this culture, and would much rather attempt to convey what it did and still does to people. He says, “I’m also curious about what the kids are up to today, what their drive is now, what my drive was then.”

When he discussed the idea with his friends in Germany, they thought he was insane to have such a crazy notion that India could be one of the countries that embraced the hip-hop culture. But Paul believes hip-hop is a surface to move along and a global phenomenon. He plans to photograph the local hip-hop scene and step into all the modes of representation that have defined India through and for Western eyes. “It is so easy and seductive to make yet another image of what this ‘exotic’, ‘unknown’ and this ‘other’ country should be. It is so easy to romanticise it. For me, it will be difficult not to photograph India in India. However, I feel that this project in Bengaluru might provide the first step to dodge the stereotype trap and instead work with something that is not commonly expected and known, but is just as real. The dreams, the ambition, the dedication — something that might not be as foreign and different as one would think.”
During his stay in the City, he plans to visit as many eateries as he can. He explains, “I absolutely love Indian food — the taste, the aroma and the spices are absolutely delicious. The other day, we went out and I got a chance to try ‘butter masala’. It was one of the best dishes I’ve had in a while and I look forward to exploring more.”
His dream is to find more work, make new friends, read as much as he can, go to various exhibitions and travel the world.

 Paul concludes, “I am excited about the opportunity to engage with this part of life on site. As I don’t know where this road will lead me, what will happen, how I will feel, who I will meet or how people will react to the idea, I can’t say what the work will look like or even what it will be. But right now, in this moment of eager anticipation, this feels just right.”