I began photographing Mumbai Sleeping in the summer of 2009 to explore the diversity of a universal human experience. I was in awe of my subjects who use the urban landscape as a bed when most of the people I know cannot sleep with a light on, the sound of traffic or an uncomfortable mattress. I was particularly inspired by the taxi drivers of Mumbai who slept in such a romantic balance with their vehicles after leaving their wives and families in the rural parts of the country to make a living in India’s city of dreams.
I was also motivated by the idea and opportunity to photograph people while they are unaware of the camera and to remove the politics of the pose from my images. In this sense I believe I was trying to capture portraits of the unconscious.
