In addition, Sandeep's work was recently exhibited at the Swiss National Museum, Zurich and at the Kunst Museum, Wolfsburg. Sandeep was one of five artists to receive the Serendipity Arles Award in 2023.

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What led you to choose photography as a medium to express yourself and how has your identity informed your work?

Choosing photo-based art as a career came about as a result of multiple accidents and experiences. I was enrolled in a business studies programme that I had no interest in. While there, I used to visit a school friend who was studying art at the Trivandrum Fine Arts College. I stayed with him in his hostel many times, and slowly got introduced to visual arts.

I went on a three-day trip to Goa with my friend and other art student friends of his, one of whom had a digital camera. I would pose for them showing my muscles, and they would refer my pose in the style of some paintings or a frame from a movie, which I pretended to know.

 I formed romantic connections with an art historian and a collector those days, both of whose knowledge of art impressed and influenced me. When my relationship with the collector ended, I tried to make pictures based on the emails we had written each other. (That series of images and video, Singularity, ended up being shown at Gallery Sumukha, Bengaluru.)

My relationships were a significant influence, not only because they allowed me to express one part of my identity, sexuality, but also because they inadvertently led me to discover another part of it: my family’s lack of wealth, and our inferior position in the social hierarchy.

Photography allowed me a closeness and a connection to experience that I felt immediately. Working at 1Shanthiroad as a gallery assistant and program manager further refined my visual language as an artist.

Tell us a little bit about your latest solo show ‘Toy Boy from Malabar and his journey to wine, cheese and chocolates.’ What are some of the themes it explores?

In 2014, I started thinking of myself as an artist, thinking about meaning instead of merely the surface qualities of art. I began to write proposals, and enthusiastically went to shows to learn more.

I was intimidated by the art world, and at the same time, I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to be a part of it because I understood being an artist is precarious, but it brings respect. You might have to do other jobs to support your art practice if you don't have parents who can bankroll you. The work I connected to was invariably made by upper-class artists, and yet about the struggles of minorities, labourers and untouchables. I was all of those things, so I thought: why sit in the margins? Why not move myself to the centre and beyond?

From the series: Toy boy from Malabar and his journey to wine cheese and chocolates. Pigment ink on Archival paper - 33x46 Inches edition of 5

Over the years, I learnt the language, slowly; I watched people closely – what they wore, how they behaved, what they said, and I became less and less of an outsider. But it was a steep climb; from not being confident to complete a single sentence in English, to how I interact in these spaces today, I know I have come a long way.

'Toy Boy from Malabar and his journey to wine, cheese, and chocolates' is a work that documents a certain kind of journey in the art world, from being a confused, small-town boy who hardly knew a word of English to becoming a more confident world-travelling artist. It is also my way of being able to take all those years of anxiety and relax: to be over it.

What have been some of the biggest challenges and learnings on your creative journey so far?

My creative journey has been primarily about turning my disadvantages into opportunities, embracing my grammatical errors in English, taking the shame away from my depression and giving it an artistic shape and form.

From the series: Your Jargon is oppression. Oil pastel, charcoal and acrylic ink on paper

In my journey, I am evolving into a slightly different person every day, which comes with new opportunities, new networks, and new living conditions. I enjoy the feeling of being able to inhabit multiple worlds at the same time.

What advice would you give to young people seeking to pursue art?

I wish I could tell you that there was a blueprint, but, alas, I can only assure you that your journey will be uniquely your own.

I do frequently encounter a sense of purity around art, this idea that artists just want to make art for themselves, without caring whether anyone else likes it or wants it. That’s not how I think about it. I make art for engagement; I want you to see it, feel it, think about it, talk to me about it, and even buy it and show it on your wall, so that I have the money to live and make more art. I’m not a decorative artist, just to be clear: I’m not in the business of making pretty pictures. My own work spans the spectrum from satirical to humorous, from light to dark, and, sometimes, downright what some people call irritating to the eyes or too bold to hang it on the wall.

I don’t make compromise for engagement; at least I try not to, and I am sure there will be people who could connect with it sooner or later.

It helped that I was always clear about what I wanted: to make the art I felt growing deep inside me, to earn a living, however basic, and to make work that draws people in. I’ve applied for more grants and residencies than I can remember, and I’ve done more odd jobs than anyone else my age, but I have no regrets. I do not apologise about needing to earn a living, and wanting gallery representation in order to make that a reality for me.