Today we’d like to introduce you to Kunwar Prithvi Singh Rathore.

Hi Kunwar Prithvi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I am a photographer and artist based in New York who sometimes enjoys ceramics and painting.

Born in a small town called Budaun in India, I was always a creative child. As the youngest of five siblings, I spent my early years drawing, painting, and doing DIY crafts with my brother. I was also fascinated by science and wildlife documentaries. One of my fondest memories is watching the Indian adaptation of Art Attack on Disney, hosted by Gaurav Juyal, a renowned animator and artist who became a huge inspiration to me. My brother and I would tune in every Sunday morning, meticulously noting the supplies we’d need to recreate the featured art projects. Around the same time, I began writing poetry—something that would later become integral to my current artistic practice.

My father, a creative and intellectual person, was another major influence. His deep interest in history, antiques, clothing, and jewelry shaped my aesthetic sensibilities. He gifted my sister and me our first DSLR camera, a tool that sparked my passion for photography and one I still use in my artistic practice today.

Despite my growing love for the arts, my parents wanted me to pursue medicine. I performed well academically, so I followed their wishes and chose science as my high school stream. However, I quickly realized that Chemistry and Physics were not for me. High school began to feel suffocating, burdened by the weight of my family’s expectations—especially since my eldest sister had successfully become a doctor. My final high school exams didn’t go as planned, and I was sent to New Delhi to prepare for medical entrance exams.

Living with my elder sisters in New Delhi turned out to be a blessing. They understood my dreams and supported me when I secretly began preparing for the entrance exams to NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology), India’s premier institute for fashion, design, and photography. I cleared the exam, and with my siblings’ help, I was able to convince my parents to let me pursue a degree in Fashion Communication at NIFT.

My time at NIFT marked a turning point. I was finally free to explore various creative disciplines—photography, graphic design, fashion styling, and creative writing. However, I quickly realized that I wanted to push beyond the limitations of commercial work and explore art more deeply. I didn’t want to end up in a corporate job focused solely on earning money.

Determined to pursue fine art photography, I applied to graduate programs abroad and was accepted at Pratt Institute in New York. This was where I found true artistic freedom. At Pratt, I was able to create work on themes that mattered most to me—exploring identity, family, culture, and intimacy through photography.

It has been a long journey: from feeling trapped in the expectation of becoming a doctor to discovering my passion, moving to New York, and exhibiting my work in galleries like Clamp. I feel incredibly privileged to be where I am today, but I have also worked tirelessly to get here.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Has it been a smooth road?

Definitely not. As I mentioned earlier, I was initially forced onto the path of becoming a doctor, unable to pursue my passion or express myself freely. One of my biggest struggles was navigating my sexuality while growing up in an environment that felt limiting, filled with unspoken boundaries. I often felt invisible, isolated, and disconnected, without a space or community where I could openly share my thoughts or experiences.

Art became my way to express everything I couldn’t say out loud. Through photography, writing, and creative exploration, I found a voice for my emotions, stories, and identity.

Even now, the road isn’t entirely smooth. It’s not easy being an artist, especially a brown artist, navigating both cultural expectations and the immense artistic competition in New York. However, I’ve started to find my people and build a community—one that feels inclusive and supportive. It’s an ongoing journey, but I’m learning to embrace the challenges and celebrate the small victories along the way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I am a fine art photographer whose work explores themes of patriarchy, toxic masculinity, and queerness within the context of a conventional middle-class South Asian family, particularly my own. My practice highlights the intricate and often strained power dynamics that exist within families, which are deeply rooted in societal expectations.

My father, an artist at heart and the very reason I pursued art, has always inspired me. Yet, his idea of masculinity—what it means to “be a man”—is something I’ve never conformed to, unlike my elder brother, who fulfills the role of the ideal son my father envisioned. My brother often serves as a mediator, understanding both of our perspectives and acting as a bridge between us.

Through my photography and writing, I portray my father and brother as strong male figures, incorporating ethnic and traditional attire, jewelry designed by my father, and antiques he passionately collects. These visual elements bring to life the intersections of patriarchy, family dynamics, queerness, and father-son relationships. I also integrate family archives—vintage family photographs—into my work, using them as both a tool of frustration and reconciliation. The act of repositioning these archival images into unexpected places mirrors my own questions and frustrations while simultaneously humanizing my father as more than a patriarch. He becomes a complex human being with his own untold life story.

Parallel to my familial exploration, I create portraits of men I’ve formed relationships with in New York, drawing a contrast between familial ties and chosen connections. My work reflects intimacy, distance, and the unspoken tensions that exist within male relationships.

I have used mostly digital photography but have recently begun exploring film, particularly 35mm, using my father’s old camera from the 1980s—a symbolic connection between past and present. I also include some of my writing with my photographs, and I recently published my first artist book, Doori.

What I am most proud of is the ability to express and live my truth through my art. My work resonates with others who may share similar experiences of navigating queerness, cultural expectations, and complex family dynamics.

My work is deeply personal; I create from a place of lived experience—references to my family and past in India as well as material from my life in New York. By making art that reflects my truth, I honor the lives of those who never got the chance to live theirs fully.

What do you like and dislike about the city?

What I like best about New York is that I’m surrounded by so many people who have also left words behind to create a life for themselves from scratch. Most of them are self-made—artists, creatives, and immigrants—which connects to where I began my journey. I came to New York to start fresh and to find my passion, and seeing others doing the same inspires me.

The thing I don’t like about New York is the factor of anonymity, coming from its large size, and the way in social scenes there can be the feeling of disposability or replaceability, but then people who have lived here a long time tell me that, in fact, it can be a small world, that you keep seeing some of the same people over and over for years.  But I think the flux of people coming and going may lead to a social superficiality that is unsettling for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kprithvi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kunwar_prithvi_singh_rathore/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kprithvisingh/
• Other: https://www.behance.net/prithvisingh9/