Like most good things, Rohan Shrestha’s series Hanami, presented in association with Diesel + Art, was born by accident. A typhoon alert forced him to prolong his stay in Tokyo, earlier this April, where he began shooting captivating photographs of cherry blossoms. The swirling pictures were a huge departure from his work as a commercial photographer. He started posting some of these under the alias NomadWithin on Instagram. “A lot of my commercial work is collaborative, and you tend lose yourself as a photographer, which is not to say that it’s a bad thing. I just wanted to explore more landscape and abstract works,” he says about working under an alias. Before long, the series caught the attention of Nationalgeographic.in and curator Ambika Hinduja Macker, who began representing his works.
“We’ve tried to create an immersive experience. We had work with the space we had – which is not a conventional white cube, gallery space kitted out with lights – and transform it completely,” says Macker. “We’ve used bonsais, which my mother has been working on for years, to create an installation. Then you go a projection room, with reflective drums. Plus the two soundscapes were composed by my sister, Satya. We also had Japanese incense, to complete the sensory experience.”
Visit Hanami (in association with Diesel + Art) till February 21, at the Diesel store, Juhu, Mumbai
Here’s how Bollywood reacted to Rohan Shrestha’s debut:
Parineeti Chopra
My genius friend and me. Im inspired by you Ro! #Hanami. Go to the Diesel store right now guys 🙂 @RohanShrestha pic.twitter.com/okJqGLF3HP
— BINDU (@ParineetiChopra) February 7, 2016
Alia Bhatt
All the best @RohanShrestha for this super cool exhibit!!! Go check it out guys ?????? 7th Feb ! pic.twitter.com/ykckCssMaX
— Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) February 5, 2016
Jacqueline Fernandez
@rohanshrestha only you know how obsessed I am with Japan (even though I’ve never been ??) … https://t.co/C1y3YOjnER pic.twitter.com/uwo1H790V1
— Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) February 6, 2016
Shraddha Kapoor
Varun Dhawan
Hey guys go checkout my very talented friend @RohanShrestha breathtaking shots at his exhibition on 7th feb pic.twitter.com/1nC8qyU0KL
— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) February 5, 2016
Sonakshi Sinha
Ro @RohanShrestha takin a big step in his career! Happy and proud! Drop by when u can 🙂 pic.twitter.com/40O6pkkv85
— Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha) February 5, 2016
Rajkumar Rao
You rock buddy. Can’t wait to see it. @RohanShrestha pic.twitter.com/pgVydjnxry
— Raj Kummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) February 6, 2016
Kriti Sanon
All the bestttt @RohanShrestha ?? so happy and proud!! Biggg hugg!! See you there tonight!! ?? pic.twitter.com/KfAInMdah5
— Kriti Sanon (@kritisanon) February 6, 2016
Aditi Rao Hydari
Rohaaaaaan! This is going to be amaaaaaze! @RohanShrestha #7thFeb pic.twitter.com/v4ylusBitu
— Aditi Rao Hydari (@aditiraohydari) February 6, 2016
