Aaryan Sinha (b. 2001, New Delhi) is a photographer and artist based in The Hague, Netherlands. His work explores the shifting nature of Indian identity within a Western context, engaging with themes of colonialism, personal memory, cultural appropriation, and intergenerational inheritance. Using photography, archival material, and text, Sinha interrogates dominant narratives and visual clichés often imposed on India, striving instead for a more layered and self-aware representation of his homeland.
Raised in India and now working across Europe, Sinha’s practice is rooted in the duality of place and perspective. Projects such as Namaste or Whatever investigate the long shadow of colonial photography and how its visual grammar continues to inform both global perceptions and personal understanding of Indian identity. In This Isn’t Divide and Conquer, Sinha journeys through five Indian states bordering Pakistan, reflecting on the scars left by Partition and the resurgence of divisive ideologies in contemporary India.
Within this broader work, sub-projects like To My Darling Love offer a more intimate lens—assembling a quiet archive of his late grandfather through personal objects, family photographs, and handwritten notes. For What Was, Will Soon Be Forgotten shifts the gaze toward Kashmir, exploring the fragile intersections of memory, mineral extraction, and environmental change in a region already shaped by geopolitical trauma.
Sinha’s work has been exhibited at institutions including Luma Arles, the Nederlands Fotomuseum, and the Belfast Photo Festival. He was selected as a Foam Talent for 2024–25, was a finalist for the Emergentes Portfolio Review at Encontros da Imagem, and was shortlisted for the PhMusuem Photography Grant 2025.
His work is supported by Mondriaan Kunstenaar Start Fund.
Exhibitions
2025
Caroline O’Breen, Amsterdam (Duo Show)
For What Was, VegNonVeg Exhibition + Artist Tee Launch, Gurugram (Solo Show)
Foam Talent 2024-2025, Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, Frankfurt (Group Show)
Photo Schwiez Festival, Zurich (Group Show)
2024
Closer, PhMuseum Days 2024 (Group Show)
Palm* Photo Prize, 1014 Gallery London (Group Show)
Colonial Traces, Belfast Photo Festival (Group Show)
Palm* Photo Prize, Melkweg Amsterdam (Group Show)
Foam Talent, Amsterdam (Group Show)
As Veias Abertas (The Open Veins), Encontros da Imagem (Group Show)
2023
Steenbergen Stipendium, Nederlands Fotomusuem (Group Show)
Arty Party: Photography Graduates, Melkweg Expo (Group Show)
House of Dior:Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents, Arles (Group Show)
Graduation Show, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
2022
Unfolding Territories, The Grey Space in the Middle, The Hague (Group Show)
2021
dis(connect) Fuse Expo in collaboration with Foam Amsterdam (Group Show)
2020
Noorderlicht Photo Festival (Group Show)
Awards and Funds
2025
PhMusuem Photography Grant 25, New Generation Prize Honourable Mention
Mondriaan Kunstenaar Start Fund
2024
Aperture Foundation Portfolio Prize, Longlist
Open Doors Gallery, Longlist
Belfast Photo Festival Spotlight Award, Shortlist
2023
Steenbergen Stipendium, Nominee
Prix Dior de la Photographie, Laureate
Emergentes Portfolio Review, Encontros da Imagem, Finalist
Features
Pf Fotografie Magazine, Nieuw Nederlands Talent
Der Greif Artist Feature and Blog
Creative Review
Palm* Photo Prize 2024 Shortlist
Foam Magazine #65 Talent
Fisheye Magazine Interview (December 2023)
Der Greif Guest Room: Damarice Amao & Matthias Pfaller (Nov 2023)
Zero Nine Magazine (September 2023)
People and Communities Zine by Uncommon Studios (August 2023)
Photoworks Photography + Graduate Issue (August 2023)
Say Magazine (July 2023)
PHMuseum (April 2023)
April Recorder by Eclect Lab (2022)