Photographers

Photographer

Sohrab Hura

Biography

Sohrab Hura (born 1981 in Chinsurah, West Bengal) is an Indian photographer and filmmaker whose vivid, often surreal visual language navigates psychological interiority and socio-political realities. Based in New Delhi, he became a Magnum Photos nominee in 2014, an associate member in 2018, and a full member in 2020. Hura’s acclaimed Sweet Life trilogy — Life Is Elsewhere (2015), A Proposition for Departure (2017), and Look It’s Getting Sunny Outside!!! (2018) — examines his relationship with his mother following her diagnosis with paranoid schizophrenia. His broader practice spans documentary, fiction, sound, film, and experimental narrative structures, often reflecting on India’s shifting political landscape. Major exhibitions include his first U.S. survey, “Mother,” at MoMA PS1 (2024–25), and The Levee at the Cincinnati Art Museum (2019). He has published numerous books, including The Coast (2019), The Levee (2020), and Things Felt But Not Quite Expressed (2024), and has received multiple awards such as the Eye Art & Film Prize 2025.

Photobook Library editorial summary · AI-assisted Independent summary

Photobooks

5 photobooks

Selected Works & Key Projects

A source-backed introduction to individual photographs and significant bodies of work.

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Key projects

Project

Life is Elsewhere

"Life is Elsewhere" is the photographic and textual series through which Sohrab Hura first gained wide attention, begun in 2005 during repeated road trips across India. The project interweaves color snapshots of the landscape, roadside life, and disorienting details with flash-lit close-ups of his mother, who had been diagnosed with a mental illness. Hura works diaristically, combining rough, immediate visuals with handwritten text to convey a sense of dislocation and longing. Recognized as a watershed in contemporary Indian photography, it normalized subjective, emotionally driven testimony within documentary practice. The series is selected because it established Hura's signature merging of autobiography and social observation, directly influencing his later, more experimental projects.

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Career timeline

3
  1. 2011

    Career milestone

    Joined Magnum Photos as a nominee

    Sohrab Hura was nominated to Magnum Photos, beginning his affiliation with the cooperative.

    Source: Magnum Photos Verified Sep 3, 2026

  2. 2012

    Photobook

    First monograph 'Life is Elsewhere' published

    Sohrab Hura's first book, 'Life is Elsewhere', was published, bringing together his early photographic series.

    Source: Wikipedia Verified Sep 3, 2026

  3. 2014

    Career milestone

    Became full member of Magnum Photos

    Sohrab Hura was elevated to full membership at Magnum Photos, solidifying his status in the cooperative.

    Source: Magnum Photos Verified Sep 3, 2026

Collections & representation

Representation

Magnum Photos

Sohrab Hura is a represented photographer and full member of Magnum Photos, a cooperative of photographers.

Verified 2026-09-03Magnum Photos

Articles & news

1

Videos

1

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