In Conversation: Radhika Muthanna on 'Divine Femininity'
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We’re talking to Radhika Muthanna today! A photographer that captures the beauty of people through portraiture – her work has been exhibited across the UK and is now reaching global audiences. We spoke to Radhika about her project ‘Divine Femininity’ and why it came about. Enjoy!
Hello! Introduce yourself, who are you? What do you do?
Hey! My name is Radhika Muthanna and I’m a freelance photographer based in Birmingham. Focussing mainly on portraiture as I get to meet some really amazing individuals.
Tell us more about your photography practice and style? How did it evolve?
I started photography less than a year ago. Around early September / late August. I used to do it a little whilst at university but decided now’s the time to fully indulge as I have always been a very creative person. I actually started off doing a little bit of product photography and realised that it wasn’t for me. Soon enough moved to shooting portraits as I realised I love photographing people and telling their stories through my work. I started doing test shoots with models around my city just to get a little practice and learnt a lot of my skills from YouTube and other creatives and soon enough fell completely in love with it!
From then on, I just tried to do as many shoots as I can with different people and work on my skills and develop my personal style. To still this day, I have no idea what that is. But I just enjoy taking photos so I guess that counts? Initially I was shotting digitally majority of the time, slowly started experimenting with doing a little film photography which is what my practice has evolved to now. So yeah, I guess it’s constantly evolving with new ideas and techniques that I look to experiment with.
We're here to primarily talk about 'Divine Femininity' . Tell us a bit more about why it's come about.
So the idea of the project actually came about when I was speaking to my friend Pooja and we were discussing how social media and media in general just shows unrealistic standards of femininity. Especially when it comes to “divine femininity”. The mainstream media continues to exclude femininity in the population with real-life experiences. Representations of women that we see are defined by how society expects women to look and behave and how well they conform to society's expectations. I wanted to step away from this narrative and create work that shows feminine energy as being naturally instilled in our soul, regardless of the appearances and characteristics of our bodies. With most social media posts under 'divine feminine energy' reinforcing the gender binary, I wanted this work to step away from that and show that this is an energy available to everyone, regardless of appearances.
We love the project, where do you see the project going next? Are there any ideas for the future?
So this project actually led me to get an artist residency in Derby which I’m so so grateful for! The residency is now coming to an end but this work is actually getting exhibited at Artcore Gallery on the 12th August. It’s in this amazing space that my work will be getting exhibited at alongside 2 other artists. Also, this work will be an ongoing series that I will be doing with people across the city so that’s something which I’m really excited for.
Were there any notable inspirations while you created 'Divine Femininity'? If so, who?
Honestly the notable inspirations will have to be my all the endless conversations I had with my friend Pooja, who had some really great input and knowledge. She’s actually one of the models for the shoot as well.
What's next for you? Where can people find your work?
So I am currently hoping to get my work exhibited internationally and reach to a wider audience. Ultimately though, I am hoping to just shoot a lot more projects that are meaningful to me and my community. You can find my work on my Instagram or my website: @radhika.photos or www.radhikamuthanna.com
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Image credits: Radhika Muthanna