Born in 1979, B. S. Shivaraju alias Cop Shiva is a policeman in real life and learnt photography to document events. Hailing from a village near Bangalore, he focuses on photographing people and ‘portraiture’ as a genre. A fascination with the diversity of roles people play in public and private is clearly reflected in his shots. He captures the multiple lives people lead, including those living on the edge, and others who represent the spirit of our times. Cop Shiva is equally passionate about capturing ordinary and extraordinary people in everyday situations, their struggles and passion. His work has been featured in several exhibitions including those held in various Indian cities as well as in London, and Colombo from where it has found its way into important collections. The artist lives and works in Bangalore.