Isolde Brielmaier: I am sparkling

N.V. Parekh was an influential Indian-born portrait photographer whose studio, located in Mombasa in the 20th-century, attracted clients from East Africa and beyond. I Am Sparkling: N. V. Parekh and His Portrait Studio Clients—Mombasa, Kenya 1940 to 1980 is a discrete examination of an historically-significant artist and his distinct clientele; and the temporal, geographical, and cultural milieu in which their collaborations flourished. The manuscript is based on a rarely accessed photographic archive and is complemented by extensive interviews with Parekh’s diverse clientele, with a particular focus on women as clients of studio photographers.