Associate Professor Max Kandhola’s Inaugural Lecture

The Visible and The Invisible

The photographer Max Kandhola presents an odyssey in the complex area of Race, Representation, Identity, and Difference, (RRID). He navigates the intersection of art practice and his academic position and critically engages with cultural narratives and visual histories that interrogate stereotypes and power structures.

Kandhola contextualises identity through a broad socio-political framework. He suggests a journey— an odyssey—to understanding and challenging visual hegemonies. His role as an artist and educator connects critical theory and creative expression; so, cultivating a dynamic dialogue that interrogates how race and representation are constructed, performed and perceived within visual culture.

This inaugural lecture, and exhibition, The Visible and The Invisible is a deeply emotional and personal family chronicle.  He looks at complex narratives of loss, memory, and identity, and confronts the fragility of life and inevitability of mortality with unflinching honesty. The photographs are at times brutal in their depiction of death. In his recent work, The Embodiment of The Aging Male Body, he examines the progressive decline of his body. The diasporic Punjabi landscape provides solace, a home. He also has a psychological and physical engagement with the domestic nurturing of the English Garden. The Taxonomy of Diasporic Plants offers a new area of research. In collaboration with Birmingham Botanical Gardens, there emerges a poignant metaphor for the colonial theft of Indian and Imperial territories of plant specimens, that serves as a symbolic site where cultural, historical, and personal tensions meet.

Mother and Selected Poems enters a dialogical relationship with the memory of his deceased mother. His expression of grief reflects on the ephemeral interplay of loss and presence. This reflection is mediated through the intimacy of pen-and-ink drawings, created over the twelve days in August 1984, that immediately preceded her passing. These drawings are further animated and given voice through Haiku poetry. This intimacy forms a profound negotiation of personal bereavement within the broader cultural and aesthetic frameworks of mourning.

The Visible and the Invisible, questions ‘what one chooses to see’ and ‘what remains unseen’, peripheral vision. There is an artistic and existential tension between presence and absence. Kandholas’ practice critically engages with broader diasporic narratives and cultural displacement, so making it a meditation on identity, place, and loss.

Max Kandhola biography

Max Kandhola is a photographer and Associate Professor at Nottingham Trent University, studied under the renowned social documentary photographer Nick Hedges. Kandhola’s photographic work critically explores cultural displacement, hybridity, and marginalized identities. It challenges dominant portrayals of race, gender, and social space, offering counter-narratives that disrupt hegemonic discourses and reclaim visibility for historically underrepresented groups. His photographic practice and his roles as both an academic and a council member at FACE, critically interrogates Race, Representation, Identity, and Difference (RRID) through an intersectional, decolonial perspective.

Max Kandhola has authored and published 4 books, The Aura of Boxing (2014), published by Dewi Lewis Publishing; An extended essay on The Aura of Boxing, titled 'To Document The Methodology of The Pugilistic Artisan' by Max Kandhola is published by New Art Exchange Nottingham; Flatland: A Landscape of Punjab (2007), published by Dewi Lewis Publishing; Illustration of Life (2003), published by Lightwork Syracuse New York and Dewi Lewis Publishing; Autograph Monograph (1996), ed by Mark Sealy published by Autograph;

Kandhola’s contributions to the field of photography are featured in prominent publications, including Photography: Race, Rights and Representation (2022), and The Figure of Christ in Contemporary Photography (2020). His photographic essays, such as ‘The Realisation of The Beautiful,’ have been published in the Journal of Art & Design Education (JADE), and ‘No Birds Do Sing In Blue Sky’ appeared in Contact Sheet, Syracuse, New York. Between 1999 and 2002, Kandhola was represented by Barbara Greene Fine Art, New York, and he is presently represented by Photoink, based in Delhi, India. Max was a recipient of the prestigious Light Work Artist Residency in Syracuse, New York, in both 1996 and 2002. Kandhola currently works from his studios in Stirchley, Birmingham, and Stratford-upon-Avon, with his wife, jewellery designer Sara Preisler.

In his formative years, Kandhola co-founded The Goate Gallery in collaboration with fashion designer Donavan Love, situating it in the heart of Birmingham. This innovative cultural space was designed to amplify the voices of marginalised communities while promoting a multiplicity of perspectives. During this period, the gallery also served as the central office for Birmingham's inaugural photography festival, an initiative realised in partnership with Ten-8 magazine, Birmingham City Council, and Arts Council England.

Max recently co-curated exhibitions and summits exploring themes of identity, race and representation. These included the FACE X RCA Royal College of Art Summit: Hair Our Untold Stories (November 2024) and FACE X Horniman – Hair Untold Stories at Kent University (2024), which featured contributions from over 30 academics, artists, and students whose works critically engaged with concepts of personal and cultural identity as mediated through hair. Additionally, the Face X Horniman Hair exhibition was showcased at the Horniman Museum in London in 2023.

Recent exhibitions have highlighted a range of complex and thought-provoking themes. These include Month of Photography Bratislava, Slovakia(November 2024), featuring The Embodiment of the Aging Male Body (2024). In 2022, Global Images of Christ: Challenging Perceptionswas showcased at Chester Cathedral. Earlier projects include The Last Seven Words of Christ(2020), a collaborative exploration with St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery, New York. Additionally, the provocative work ‘u fucking paki’ was featured in the FotoFest 2018 Biennial, India/Contemporary Photographic and New Media Art in Houston, Texas, challenging racial and cultural preconceptions through image and text.

Max has presented his work in prestigious venues and international photography festivals, reflecting the global reach and critical engagement of his practice. His exhibitions include Flowers East Gallery in London, Impressions Gallery in Bradford, Rencontres d'Arles in France, Photo Fusion in London, StreetLevelin Glasgow, the Third Lianzhou International Photography Festival in China, Format in Derby, Photoink in Delhi, India, Walsall Art Galleryin the UK, Focal Point Gallery in the UK, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt in Germany, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, New Art Exchange in Nottingham, LightWork in Syracuse, New York, and the Gwangi Design Biennale in Korea.

Kandhola’s photography is included in several prominent collections worldwide, such as The Deutsche Bank Collection and The National Trust in England. Additionally, his work is represented in the collections of the Fox Talbot Museum of Photography and the UK Government Art Collection.

As Council member of FACE, Kandhola challenges the underrepresentation of Black and Brown academics, significantly impacting young creatives, particularly those of color. FACE has hosted 3 summits with Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins, focusing on diversity and representation in arts education. In 2023, they promoted equitable practices through an anti-oppression lens and launched the FACE Race handbook in 2024, targeting industry and education. FACE is a not-for profit organisation dedicated to catalysing transformation within Higher Education Arts and Design fields, and the creative industries. Our mission is to champion equity, inclusivity and unity, with a specific focus on addressing issues related to race, colour, and ethnicity.

In his mentoring role, Kandhola has guided many young artists and photographers, offering personalised mentoring, portfolio development, editorial advice, and strategic business support leading to successful outcomes of grant capture, publications and exhibitions.

5.00 pm: Registration and welcome refreshments (tea, coffee, juice)
5:30 pm: Welcome by Executive Dean
5:35 pm: Lecture begins
6:20 pm: Close and thanks by Associate Dean for Research
6:30 pm: Drinks reception
7.00 pm: Close