Sunil Gupta Survey at Kettle's Yard Explores Art, Activism and Queer Intimacy
Kettle's Yard in Cambridge will host a photography exhibition by Sunil Gupta, titled Life with a Camera, 1970-Now, from 19 September to 31 January 2027. A key feature of the exhibit is From Here to Eternity (1999), which showcases six diptychs created following Gupta's HIV positive diagnosis, often portraying him in vulnerable, naked moments alongside urban backdrops. These works reflect the uncertainty of that era and challenge his identity within LGBTQ communities. The exhibition also highlights earlier collections such as Friends and Lovers, Black Experience, and Exiles. Gupta has mentioned that revisiting the analogue darkroom has been a healing experience. Additionally, he is featured on The Art Newspaper's podcast and YouTube channel.
Key facts
- Sunil Gupta's survey Life with a Camera, 1970-Now runs at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, from 19 September to 31 January 2027
- From Here to Eternity (1999) comprises six photographic diptychs made four years after Gupta's HIV positive diagnosis
- The diptychs pair intimate self-portraits with unpeopled queer club and sauna exteriors photographed in daylight
- Gupta shot the gate of the building housing the club Fist beside a billboard for the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
- Friends and Lovers depicts Gupta and his family in Montreal after their move from India in the 1970s
- Black Experience is a series of London-based photographs Gupta created in 1986
- Lovers: Ten Years On (1984-85) has become a memorial to sitters who died in the Aids crisis
- Exiles (1986-87) shows gay men meeting at cruising sites in Delhi, then an illegal activity in India
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Kettle's Yard
- Hales Gallery
- Materià Gallery
- SepiaEye
- Stephen Bulger Gallery
- Vadehra Art Gallery
- Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
- The Art Newspaper
Locations
- Cambridge
- United Kingdom
- London
- Montreal
- Canada
- India
- Delhi
- New York
- Christopher Street