Vikram was born and raised in India, and later moved to the UK, where he received his Master’s degree from the University of Creative Arts in Rochester. After a brief stint in the fashion industry in Bangalore, Vikram took a module in photography, which sparked his interest in the art. Shortly after working as an assistant to a renowned photographer in Bombay, Vikram once again enrolled in a photography course, although this time it was at India’s only exclusive photography school in Ooty. However, upon graduating in 2007, he decided that India was not the place to forward his career, and thus looked towards the British Isles.

Vikram’s photos reflect a longing for childhood dreams and fantasies, and for a world unsullied by modernity and the mundane; a simpler life, when ‘miracles were taken for granted’, as Vikram puts it. Similarly, through his corpus of work, Vikram strives to ‘challenge reality’ and rebel against the modern world through celebrating the romanticism and innocence of the ‘pure self’ of the child. The poignant symbols and images featured in his surreal and magical photos such as secret hiding places and ‘imaginary friends’ are a manifestation of this celebration and yearning.

In addition to taking his cues from his childhood memories and his own notions of romanticism, Vikram’s artistic influences are vast. While through his work one can see a direct link to childhood classics such as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, Vikram also cites the works of Sigmund Freud and the fashion photographer Guy Bourdin as having left a profound impression on him. As well, while pursuing his Master’s, he was particularly drawn to the work of the Surrealists, the Romantics, and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Vikram’s photos have graced prominent fashion publications around the world, and have been exhibited in galleries and exhibitions in the UK and the US. Vikram’s Ofelea series has been the subject of much critical acclaim, having been exhibited at three UK and one exhibition in Los Angeles, and having won an Emergent-Fundacio Sorigue award in Lleida, Spain. Building on his success thus far, Vikram is currently collaborating with the fashion designer and writer Trisha Akhlecha to produce a book of his latest collection, Memoirs of Lost Time, due for release in Septermber 2012.

‘Like Peter Pan, even today, I refuse to grow up’ – Vikram Kushwah