I travelled to Bengaluru, India in November of 2022 and photographed a weekend home for Taliesyn Architecture + Design. The photographs have since been published in leading international architecture publications.

My first visit to India was in 2013. Nine years later, I was invited back to give an artist talk called Writing Beyond Type at Asia Pacific Writers & Translators annual conference. The artist talk focused on pushing the boundaries of creative expression beyond the page. For context, I graduated university with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Creative Writing & Literature. Only later did I pick up the camera. And even later, my audience came to know me as a professional photographer of contemporary architecture, not just an artist interested in documenting demolished houses.

Having seen much of the country and an abundance of its ancient architecture, I was determined to spend this trip (outside the conference) exploring the burgeoning architectural scene in Bengaluru, and to see how its history and culture influenced contemporary forms. I reached out to Taliesyn Architecture + Design. They sent me some phone pictures of a long red concrete bench. It was Cabin House, under construction, and by their estimate, would be completed upon my arrival in the country.

Cabin House has gone on to garner global attention, and as the photographer, I'm thankful for the press. The images landed in Elle Decor India, Dwell, Dezeen, Wallpaper, Arch Daily and more.

I've always thought of myself as a better writer than photographer, and where possible, have tried to combine the two storytelling mediums. As a longtime contributor to Australian architectural publications, I was excited by the opportunity to challenge the notoriously dry and academic language by giving a firsthand account of Cabin House. I was here, at Cabin House, not reviewing someone else's images via Dropbox. I saw Cabin House. I smelled it. I felt it.

Thanks to Habitus Living for that opportunity to inject my personality into the piece. And perhaps thanks is also owed to Asia Pacific Writers & Translators as the conference and the global network of talent had given me plenty of inspiration.

"My taxi weaves its way through Bangalore traffic for thirty minutes or more until the honking slips away. We reach Jayanagar, a quiet and leafy southern suburb of India’s technology capital in the state of Karnataka. My driver pulls over while I look through the taxi’s windows, trying to pair the reference images I’d been sent for Cabin House with the actual Cabin House. My driver points across the way and there, camouflaged by tropical flora, is the one-bedroom weekend home for a family of three."

Read the entire feature here.