Cop Shiva (Shivaraju B.S.), is a documentary photographer. He started his photography career by being a part of an alternative art collective called 1.SHANHTIROAD STUDIO/GALLERY. As a coordinator of this space, he met many local photographers and artists, from India and abroad, which enriched his art practice.
Cop Shiva started to document the complexity of rural and urban India. He focuses on people and portraiture as a genre. He is fascinated with the idea of masquerade and the roles people play in public and private. One of the most acclaimed projects involved documenting the life of a rural school teacher, named Bagadehalli Basavaraj, as a Gandhi impersonator. This project has evolved to include a broader reached, that is to look at Gandhi’s ideals in contemporary India.
