Three photographers, Prabir Purkayastha, Parthiv Shah and Aditya Arya, travelled through the lanes of Jerusalem capturing the city from their standpoint. By Kritika Dua
Art underscores the transfiguration that can take place if people come together despite the fragmented and divisive world they live in. Three Indian photographers went on a creative pilgrimage to Jerusalem — the hub of Christianity, Islam and Judaism — and came back with their faith in humanity restored.
As curator Dr Alka Pande mentioned, “I chose three celebrated and sensitive photographers — Prabir Purkayastha, Parthiv Shah and Aditya Arya — each having an individualistic visual language. Purkayastha’s work revolves around the concept of Bezalel, a Hebrew word meaning ‘in the shadow of God’, achieved through text and images. Shah’s work borders towards a documentary style of photography on Jerusalem, capturing the unadulterated slices of life. Jerusalem stone became the recurring leitmotif in Arya’s work who also experimented with Dead Sea prints.”
Purkayastha’s manifestation of Transcending Jerusalem was to address time and changing emotions. “The city and surrounding regions have witnessed several historical milestones. I have tried to funnel the past, connect it with the present and aspire for a better future,” he told us. Owing to his pluralistic worldview, which was formed in missionary schools, he views Jerusalem as a holy city. “I know it’s divided into four quarters in terms of religious beliefs, including Armenians. My looking glass for the city was in the shadow of God as the city is emerging from his tutelage. My vision behind these photographs was to dwell upon the question what constructs the metamorphosis that is taking place in the city. I started with history and travelled through time to the modern look and feel of Jerusalem. In effect, mine is a broad spectrum of transcendence as it addresses time which is infinite,” he added.
The first section of his series, Wall of Pain, deals with anguish and strife that is unavoidable. “I could sense the tense atmosphere while walking down the streets. We willfully shut the pain from our mind at times or run away from it but one can’t escape the harsh reality. There is the Wailing Wall, Separation Wall in the city.” Holocaust is embedded in the psyche of every Jew across the world, the Separation Wall depicts how the Palestinian quarter is cut off from the rest of the city. The series ends with a black and white frame of suffering individuals. Every picture of his contains a quotation from Jewish authors, poets, scientists, architects and writers. “I started with the dark aspect and then moved on towards the bright side which is faith, be it Islamic, Armenian or Jewish,” said he.
Purkayastha tried to trace faith from the beginning of time through the Hebrew language. A picture of the Shrine Of The Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls (ancient Hebrew manuscripts) are kept, looked at the primal nature of human bonds. “In Jerusalem, either one looks down at the cobblestones or the magnificent skyline or the gilded domes. When the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre catches the morning or evening light, for a few minutes the whole place radiates a heavenly glow, a kind that permeates time and restores faith in mankind,” Purkayastha told us. He could feel the presence of an entity, in his words “a presence of an absence.”
He documented Jewish children, who were shown embracing their culture but also being in touch with technology through their smartphones. The photographer captured them in action on the same alley lord Jesus walked on and was crucified. He believes that they have to progress in life using technology as a boon while not losing touch with their values. The centerpiece of his work was the spirit of transcending Jerusalem, a kind of victory against all odds — people with faith, courage and perseverance. It was shown through a top angle shot of the city’s modern architecture. Interestingly, he used a quotation of Anne Frank, a Holocaust victim, ‘Be brave! let’s remember our duty and perform it without complaint. There will be a way out. God has never deserted our people. Through the ages Jews have had to suffer, but through the ages they’ve gone on living, and the centuries of suffering have only made them stronger. The weak shall fall and the strong shall survive and not be defeated!’ His later works demarcated the old viewpoint of the city giving way to the new. Purkayastha asserted, “This part highlights the facets of new Jerusalem. The dark alleys lit up at dawn and dusk.” The light, which earlier spread its wings upon the domes, was seen brightening the interiors. Added he, “A ray of light or hope in the darkness. The new light will spread the brightness which will wash away the pain and sorrows.” This was followed by a young group of people, including girls, at city pubs, pulsating with life and on the flipside, a Jewish man reading a book in isolation. According to him, girls are the heartbeat of the city as apart from leading a regular life, most of them are also soldiers and portray strength of the feminine entity. Purkayastha’s series ended with a soaring spirit, modernity shown through an art installation of a metal branch and the famed Chords Bridge. These are the structures which reach for the sky and the photographer hopes for a similar future for all citizens. He exclaimed, “Jerusalem for me is faith reaching for the sky.”
Arya is an archivist, photo historian and a practitioner of an alternative print making process. His works focussed on the yellow Jerusalem stone, contrasted by a dove and its shadow representing peace. Be it a bearded Jewish man simply walking on stones, a Palestinian man climbing the stairs of a mosque or women going about their daily runs, the monochromes located people in a shared context. Then there was this interesting overlay of vibrant mannequins on a shop window and an old yellowstone structure reflected in the glass. A symbolic representation of a pluralistic modernity born of history.
What caught our attention the most was the Dead Sea print that Arya created comprising selected photographs. Said he, “It’s an age-old method of printing which gives it a distinct texture and a sepia hue. It was a dominant paper-based photographic process for producing positive prints between 1839 and 1860. I have used this technique to explore and experiment with dimensions of land and its varied metaphors. This process has a curious element of unpredictability attached to it as the photographer is unaware of the results.”
Shah’s graphic images dealt with religion, roots, belonging, nostalgia and tradition. Duality was his leitmotif. It had everything from a woman in burqa to one in jeans, a Jewish man with bowed head standing near the Wall of Separation, a wall with Hebrew inscriptions backended by a graveyard having a large Cross. Shah paid ode to Jerusalem’s famed cats through a black and white picture of one sitting peacefully near a Islamic monument with its feline grace. Another monochromatic work of his showcased a sequence of three moments captured around the Wailing Wall. The first was of a father and son, the second of a mourner around a selfie-taking youth and the last of a seeker deep in prayer. He summed it up, saying, “My work combines religion and the people, parallel sides of tradition and modernity at the same point in time and backdrop. You could call these moments a remaking of the city.”