After a few days exploring Kochi, Hans-Christian Schink developed the vague idea of taking photographs after the fall of darkness – a marked change from his usual approach of shooting under an overcast sky.

Then, one evening he happened across spotlights in the streets of the city. The artificial light created an unreal atmosphere and gave Schink the idea of using a similar effect for his own project – but only using light sources already available in the streets in Kochi.

The result is his project Kochi Nights: forty images from the outer tip of the subcontinent, a region that has been the site of ever shifting power arrangements ever since Portuguese sailors landed in 16th century, and a place where history is still ever-present in the city’s landscape.

Hans-Christian Schink was born in Erfurt, East Germany in 1961. From 1986–91 he studied photography at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (HGB) Leipzig (Academy of Visual Arts) and earned his Master’s degree there in 1993.

Selected monographic publications are Burma (2018), Kochi Nights (2018), Fotografien aus Rom (2015), Tohoku (2013), Fläming (2012) Hans-Christian Schink (2011), 1h (2010), Verkehrsprojekte/Traffic Projects (2004) and LA (2004).