Chirag Jindal

About

Artist and surveyor Chirag Jindal works at the intersection of documentary journalism and contemporary cartography. After graduating with his Master of Architecture in 2016, Jindal began practicing with terrestrial LiDAR - an emerging form of lens-based imaging applied in archaeological surveying and criminal forensics. He employs this technique to document our relationship to marginalised landscapes, seeking to “unravel the hidden effects, and unseen layers, of human presence.” In his 2018 debut series “ Into The Underworld”, Jindal creates tracings of ancient lava caves underneath the city of Auckland. Unique to the volcanic region and held sacred by local iwi, the sites now lie dilapidated by a century of rapid urban sprawl. Through exercises in exploring, mapping, and revealing, Jindal takes an empirical approach to bring a mythified world into the domain of public visibility, offering it as something to be recognised, preserved and managed as a shared heritage.

Education

2013

University of Auckland, Bachelor of Architectural Studies

2016

University of Auckland, Master of Architecture (First Class Honours)

Exhibitions (Solo)

2021

Untitled Solo Exhibition of New Project, Interphoto Festival, Bialystok, Poland
Into The Underworld / Ngā Mahi Rarowhenua, BBA Gallery, Berlin, Germany
The Palisade, Wright’s Hill Fortress, Wellington, New Zealand

2020

Into The Underworld / Ngā Mahi Rarowhenua, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen, Demark
Into The Underworld / Ngā Mahi Rarowhenua, BBA Gallery, Berlin, Germany
The Palisade, W right’s Hill Fortress, Wellington, New Zealand

2018

Into The Underworld / Ngā Mahi Rarowhenua, Silo 6, Auckland, New Zealand

Exhibitions (Group)

2024

echoes of tomorrow. yes, today!, BBA Gallery, Berlin, Germany

2020

Nuit De La Photo, Musée des beaux-arts, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
International Photography Exhibition, Royal Photographic Society, London, UK
Framing Vision, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark
Related Realities, Backlight Photo Triennale, Tampere, Finland
Aesthetica Art Prize, York Art Gallery, London, UK
Arte Laguna Prize, Arsenale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
New Zealand Garden, Ars Electronica (virtual), Auckland, New Zealand

2019

RT Nelson Emerging Artist Award, NZ Art Fair, Wellington, New Zealand
Central Otago Arts Gold, Central Stories Museum, Otago, New Zealand
Sunny Art Prize, Sunny Art Centre, London, UK
Malamegi Lab 13, Piazza Di Pietra Gallery, Rome, Italy
Interphoto Grand Prix, Interphoto Festival, Bialystok, Poland
Bird in Flight Prize, SET art Space, Kyiv, Ukraine
BBA Photography Prize, BBA Gallery, Kühlhaus Berlin, Berlin, Germany
London Group Open, The Cello Factory | London UK
Meitar Award, Photo Israel Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel

Publications (Featured & Self-Published)

2021

International Photography Annual 8 (INPHA 8)

2020

Future Now 2020: 100 Contemporary Artists, Aesthetica Art Magazine. European Photography 106.

2018

The Architecture of Katabasis, The Art of the Point Cloud.
Into The Underworld / Ngā Mahi Rarowhenua: A Selection of Critical Texts.

2016

The Architecture of Katabasis, March. Thesis.

Awards & Recognition

2020

Winner, Under 30s Award, Royal Photographic Society, London, UK

2019

Winner, RT Nelson Emerging Artist Award, Wellington, New Zealand
Winner, NZ Art Fair People’s Choice Award, Wellington, New Zealand
Winner, Interphoto Grand Prix, Bialystok, Poland
Winner, BBA Photography Prize, BBA Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Winner, LAB 13 Art Prize, Rome, Italy
Winner, Schauerman Digital Art Prize, London, UK
Winner, Tall Poppy Prize, Central Otago Arts Gold, Otago, New Zealand
Finalist, Majaoja Prize, Tampere, Finland
Finalist, Bird in Flight Prize, Kyiv, Ukraine
Finalist, Aesthetica Art Prize, London, UK
Finalist, Meitar Award, Tel Aviv, Israel
Finalist, Arte Laguna Prize, Venice, Italy

2018

Finalist, Lumen Art Prize, London, UK

Articles & Interviews

2020

UOA RPS promotion 2020 ARTDOC RPS award win

2018

NZ Geographic; Stuff NZ; Metro NZ; UOA Interview; Radio NZ Interview