The Awards Collective was created to feature the works of artist who have received a Juror’s Award or Director’s Award in ASG’s Online exhibitions.  Rajan Dosaj’s image “The Last Leaves of Autumn“ received the Juror’s Award in the “animalia” exhibition juried by Henry Horenstein.  Rajan’s exhibition “Pound the Pavement” was featured from January 1 to January 31 , 2024 and is discussed in our GalleryTalk with Rajan.

Artist Statement

In preparation for this exhibition, I reviewed many of the street photography images that I have shot over the last 3 or 4 years in and around the Los Angeles area.

Many, but not all of the images that I shot during this period often feature a solitary individual going about their business on the streets, working at their job, walking their dog, jogging or simply at leisure.

Focusing on an individual, whether it is a street scene or street portrait, I‘m looking to capture some of the characteristics of the subject. How the individual walks, where the eyes are focused, do they smoke, their comfort level in public, their familiarity with the surroundings in which they are placed and so on. The hope is to capture an image that tells a story about the subject and setting to understand the subject’s position in life and the world at large.

As I often do, architecture, buildings or vast landscapes, etc. are brought into play as I compose the surroundings around the subject. These are details that often complement the image, add to the story and possibly our understanding of the individual.

What you will see in this exhibition are black and white images of the streets, the environment, the moments in the lives of individuals who walk the streets alone, some with a purpose, some without. Each has a unique story that through my camera, through my eyes, I have hopefully captured a brief and wonderful moment.

Bio

Born and raised in the United States, I spent nearly 20 years in the theater world as a dancer and singer in Broadway musicals such as A Chorus Line, Shenandoah with John Raitt, Hello Dolly with JoAnn Worley just to name a few. Upon my retirement from theater, I settled into the business world but it wouldn’t be long before I was in need of a creative outlet and the Sebastiao Salgado documentary, The Salt of the Earth, rekindled my brief high school interest in photography. Soon, the books of Alec Soth, Nancy Rexroth, Sally Mann, Joshua Jackson, and many more were on my shelves and with a newly purchased camera in hand, I started out on my latest adventure.

Naturally, I started with dance portraits and found it incredibly exciting and fulfilling but soon I ventured into other genres to improve my technique. Whether it was wildlife, street, architecture, portrait, or fine art photography, I was either taking a class or teaching myself about a particular genre in order to become a better photographer.

Today I spend most of my time shooting fine art, portrait and street photography, but whatever genre I choose to shoot, I love those rare moments when my eyes, through a camera, are able to see and hopefully capture an extraordinary moment.

In my short time behind the camera, I have been fortunate enough to have several of my images appear in galleries and competitions across the U.S. and Europe including Photo Place Gallery, A Smith Gallery, Praxis Gallery, Black Box Gallery, SE Center for Photography, PH21 Gallery, Blank Wall Gallery, the Decode Gallery and the Orange County Fair.

instagram: @rajan.dosaj

link to online exhibition