Anita Khemka (b. 1972) studied English Literature at Delhi University and Visual Merchandising at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore, before embarking on her photographic practice in 1996. Her work engages with gender, sexuality and the social conditions that shape the lives of marginalised communities. Her early work on gender diversity informed the German film Between the Lines: India’s Third Gender (2005). Her ongoing series Laxmi (2003–present), developed through a long-standing collaboration with transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, was exhibited at the Asian Arts Museum, Nice (2022), and Magazzino delle Idee, Trieste (2024).
In 2006, Khemka turned the camera on herself to produce a series of self-portraits in a period of crisis that marked a shift in her photographic practice. Exploring the dynamics of looking and being looked at, these works opened up the conventions of documentary photography to questions of self-representation and the constructed nature of the image. The series has featured in numerous exhibitions, including Watching Me, Watching India at Fotografie Forum International, Frankfurt (2006); the Photoquai Biennale at the Musée du quai Branly, Paris (2007); The Self and the Other: Portraiture in Contemporary Indian Photography, presented at Palau de la Virreina, Barcelona (2010); and Where Three Dreams Cross: 150 Years of Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh at Whitechapel Gallery, London (2010). Since then, her practice has expanded to encompass performance and collaboration, incorporating lighting, staging and the contingencies of public space. In October 2026, she performed a monologue based on Kenyan playwright Cosmas Bii’s Yes, I Cheated On You, extending her exploration of theatricality into a different medium.
Khemka began working in Kashmir in 2017 with her partner Imran Kokiloo. Their collaborative work received the 2022 Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography. Their project, Will the Bulbul Sing to the Flowers Again?, drawn from their family archives, will be exhibited at the Dilip Piramal Art Gallery, NCPA, Mumbai, from 6 November to 20 December 2026.
A founding member of PHOTOINK, Khemka has also held significant institutional roles. From 2015 to 2019, she headed the Photography Department at the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Creativity. Since 2019, she has served as Head of Projects, India, at PhotoSouthAsia. Her project on sex workers across South Asia, Liquid Borders. Dissident Bodies, was commissioned and published by CREA in 2025. Her exhibition Acts of Self, drawn from the publication, will be on view at PHOTOINK from 31 October to 30 December 2026.
Khemka lives in Srinagar, India, with her partner and two daughters.
Shahanur Khanam (from Bangladesh) photographed outside Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm)
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Rina (from Bangladesh) photographed outside Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
24 × 18 in (61 × 45.7 cm)
40 × 30 in (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Anusha Akter Mitu (from Bangladesh) photographed outside Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
24 × 18 in (61 × 45.7 cm)
40 × 30 in (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Papiya (from Bangladesh) photographed outside Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm)
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Meri Ranjani, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm)
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Kiruli Amanda (Sanju), Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm)
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Avanthika Deepthi Hansima, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm)
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Kami Chouhdry (from Pakistan) photographed in Kathmandu, Nepal, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm)
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Satya Ramanayaka, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm)
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Rani Mangalika, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2025
Pigment print
2 sizes available
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm)
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Ed of 7 + 2 APs
Junaid Shafi and his cat, Cookie
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
54 × 44 in (137.2 × 111.8 cm)
Bimla, Pooja, and Arhan
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
14 × 16.7 in (35.6 × 42.4 cm)
Shalini, Nidheesh, Os, Lama and their dogs, Zeus and Lolakutty
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
19.3 × 23.7 in (40 × 60.2 cm)
Vasantha and Manjeera
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
32 × 23.9 in (81.3 × 60.7 cm)
Nilima
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
23.7 × 19.3 in (60.2 × 49 cm)
Rehan and Nargis
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
17.3 × 21 in (43.9 × 53.3 cm)
Kanika, Madhu and Aanya
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
15.7 × 19 in (39.9 × 48.3 cm)
Zaara, Prema, Anita, Saroj, Azah and Imran
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
28.8 × 35.5 in (73.1 × 90.2 cm)
Siyona, Rigya and Sanju
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
9.75 × 12 in (24.9 × 30.5 cm)
Shakuntala Kapoor
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
21 × 17.3 in (53.3 × 43.9 cm)
Saloni and Ushinor
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
14 × 16.7 in (35.6 × 42.4 cm)
Naina and Preeti
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
44 × 54 in (111.8 × 137.2 cm)
Daksh, Anurag, Geeta, Dhruv and their dog, Ginger
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
19.4 × 23.7 in (49.3 × 60.2 cm)
Ayesha, Deepak, Jayalaxmi, Anirudh and their dog, Rustom
From the series, Shared Solitude
Pigment print
19.3 × 23.7 in (49 × 60.2 cm)