Kalpesh Lathigra

Kalpesh Lathigra is an award-winning British artist based in London and a lecturer at the London College of Communication (UAL). He began his career in photojournalism and has since developed a personal practice that feels both accessible and enigmatic. When I asked him about this balance, he replied: “I am trying to be quiet in myself in the hope that the audience can ask questions themselves.”

In editorial assignments — often involving well-known figures — he leans toward discretion. In contrast, he shares moments from family life openly. We’re used to the opposite dynamic, so this inversion is refreshing and serves as a reminder of where our attention belongs.

The photograph here, made several years ago, shows his daughter waiting for the hydrogen peroxide to set. Her stance and direct gaze convey both confidence and impatience — “ok Dad, can we get this over with” — alongside a familiarity with the camera that recalls the ease seen in Sally Mann’s body of work. The photograph is part of Lathigra’s ongoing series Nim and Other Stories. Nim, his wife, is “the metaphorical anchor of the series,” he told me. “It is all emanating from her centre.” The work, he continued, “is both a reflection of my shortcomings as a husband, father and son, but it is also a quiet study of distance — not merely geographic, but emotional and existential.”

Lathigra continues to make photographs and books, take on select assignments, and exhibit his work internationally.