We started with around 1000 photographic images for the Hola Mahalla exhibition, and whittled it down to 100, and then further for the final exhibition selection. It's a weird reflective process going through each image. The natural response is to be nostalgic about the moment I captured. Reminisce about what was happening at the time, the sounds, the smell, the heat, but instead you have to critique it in a very blunt "is this good enough?" kind of way.

It's hard looking at your own work and trying to be honest with yourself. It's also difficult not to think back to when I took some of the shots and think "if only". You also need to be objective and not let it sow seeds of doubt about your own ability.

Quality and not quantity has been the mantra, especially with those helping me decide on the images to use. We've got some unique and amazing images, coupled with the talented artists commissioned to create original pieces of art for the exhibition, I hope it's one people enjoy and remember.

Hola Mahalla exhibition will be running from 1 April to 31 May at Kala Sangam, Bradford. There will be a launch of the exhibition and preview screening of the documentary at 6.30pm on Saturday 18 April.

To buy the documentary 'Hola Mahalla: The Forgotten Festival click here.

Thanks

I received the latest batch of test prints for the Hola Mahalla exhibition, it feels like a step closer, and makes it little more real. I got a mixture of sizes, to see what is possible. When you blow an image up, any size bigger than A3 and you will potentially have issues. So a big thing we wanted to do was make sure the images were the best we could make them for the different sizes.

For exhibitions, when it comes to cost you don't just have to factor in the printing of the images you also have to factor in the frame costs. Thats obviously separate to the time and money invested in getting those shots in the first place. Eventually it all adds up.

Putting on an exhibition isn't cheap, and when you're funding it yourself it's daunting to say the least, but I feel its still worth persevering with and investing in. I personally haven't seen an exhibition on Hola Mahalla so that's an extra incentive to put it on. I also haven't come across too many Sikh themed exhibitions, especially up north. So instead of complaining about the absence of such exhibitions, or the lack sponsorship or funding that obviously would help finance such an endeavour, I decided to just crack on and do something. Thankfully the exhibition is on for at least two months, so I'm hoping people will get a chance to see it.

I hope people can take something away from the exhibition. I hope young and old, Sikhs and none Sikhs get the opportunity to visit it and be reminded of the great warrior and spiritual tradition us Sikhs were once famed for. I hope through the exhibition, people get a glimmer of this unique and amazing festival and be inspired to go experience it themselves.

With a bit of hard work and persistence they will.

To buy the documentary 'Hola Mahalla: The Forgotten Festival click here.

Thanks

Exhibition preparation

Test Prints