Sunhil Sippy

Sunhil Sippy (b.1971, London, United Kingdom) has spent his formative years growing up in North London suburbia and attending a local prep school before going on to study at Harrow School. At 17, before committing to University at Georgetown where he received a degree in English Literature in 1994, he wandered across the country living in California for a year, briefly attending photography school. In 1995, he arrived in Bombay intending to build a career in the world of film and advertising. He had always been inspired by the world of television commercials, viewing them as a form of visual art patronized by many of the world’s most innovative companies. The barriers to entry were high, and realizing that winning a gig in a pre-cellphone era when 35mm film was still whirring through the cameras, was going to be tough. Sunhil embarked on a tumultuous ride making his first feature film in 1999 called Snip! which was released in late 2000 and subsequently won the coveted National Award for Best Editing in 2001. It proved to be a worthy calling card and thereafter he entered the world of commercials. A major accident involving a heel injury, proved to be a turning point in his life, and one that introduced him to the world of street photography. It was meditative walks through the city of Bombay that healed both his spirit and his foot.

Over ten years, he has captured life on the streets of a city that he never believed would evolve and change as much as it has. These images are from The Opium of Time, a 224-page photo book which is his collection of work that is a romantic celebration of a city whose robust spirit is camouflaged by a delicate and vulnerable veneer.

Sunhil lives and works in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.