Mumbai North is a collection black and white - photographs taken 15,000 ft above sea level between December 2014 and November 2015 of Mumbai's suburbs by photographer Robert D Stephens.
After the success of his two previous exhibitions, 'Mumbai Articles' (2014) and 'Madras Transit' (Aug 2015) were, Stephens offers an alternate lens into the urban geography, landscape and sprawl of the city's suburbs with Mumbai North.
One of the unique aspects of this photograph is that it is accompanied by a record of air pollution levels on the corresponding day, as measured by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board as well as extracts from antiquarian books related to Mumbai, dating back to the late 1800s.
Bountiful Xanadu
April2015
SO2 - 6 ug / m3
NOx - 125 ug / m3
RSPM ??? 163 ug / m3
"Nature has been bountiful to Bombay. Can it be said that, apart from a few men, many of us have done anything to embellish the beauty of this landscape? And will it be said that our generation, which fought for political freedom, answered the challenge of building a humane order?
The destiny of Bombay will be decided in our own time. Let us not build blind alleys. Let us open out to gardens, vistas, utilities,gathering places, schools, hospitals, on the hitherto neglected spaces, away from the congested 'Fort' of a bygone age, until many 'Xanadus' grown beyond the dream of Kubla Khan, nearer our own dreams for a city worthy of an emergent new world, beyond the concepts of London, Paris and New York, to our own inner aspirations towards the 'city beautiful'. Let us have the courage to dream:
For in dreams begins responsibility."
Bombay, Planning and Dreaming
Marg
Ed. Mulk Raj Anand
June 1965
Page 3
Robert D. Stephens is a Principal at RMA Architects, Mumbai. His passions include the art of building and constructing beauty through visual, literary, and cinematic imagery. In 2013 he co-produced a feature film withIndia's first You Tube star, Wilbur Sargunaraj, entitled "Simple Superstar".
About Mumbai North
Aerial Photographs of Mumbai's Suburbs by Robert D. Stephens
Click links below to see his other collections:
Mumbai Articles Madras Transit After the success of Mumbai Articles, Stephen's contemporary black and white, aerial photographs of Mumbai city, photographer Robert D Stephens turns his attentions to the surburbs of Mumbai. This January, he brings us Mumbai North, an urban portrait collection of suburban geography, featuring black and white photographs taken 15,000 ft above sea level between December 2014 and November 2015. Suburbs documented range from Nalasopara to Bhiwandi, Vikhroli to Aarey Colony, Bandra to Kandivali, and more.