Australia-born photographer Robyn Beeche is known across london and England for her iconic fashion pictures. She gave up everything to spend her life in Vrindavan, documenting its living culture. She tells Divya Kaushik that she is working on a book on the raas lila tradition
For someone working as per the catwalk calenders, coordinating schedules with the world-known makeup artistes and fashion photographers, the decision of leading life in a small Indian town might be not be an easy one. But for Robyn Beeche it was simple. She knew her aim is not to get lost in the “snap snap” of the “money-making” world but to add value to her photography. Her idea of photography is not just clicking images but it is reflecting the culture of the place and an experience through her photographs.
The first visit to Vrindavan in 1985 was the life-changing event for this Autsralia-born photographer, who became famous in london for her iconic 80s images. “I had met Rajeev Sethi in England in 1982 during the Festival of India. When I came here he suggested that I should not go anywhere else but Vrindavan since it was the occasion of Holi. So there I was in the middle of Barsana, colours splashing in the air like a toddler throwing paint randomly on a white sheet of paper. For me that is what photography is, an experience narrated through colours against the white backdrop,” shared Robyn, who since 1985 has been based in Vrindavan, chronicling life and Indian culture through her images, books and other documentaries. Documentary film, A life Exposed, by Australian director lesley Branagan and award-winning cinematographer Bonnie Elliot, shows how India’s rich visual content paradoxically provides Robyn the chance to nourish her main themes (illusion, transformation) in a culture where they occur spontaneously as religious expression and are not constructed. “My journey has been surprisingly positive and it is a daunting thing to have your life up on the screen. leslie has done a great job by sharing my life and it has been an enriching experience for me. The documentary will help sharing my life with people and inspire them positively to value their own culture and history. India is changing fast and since I have been based here for long now even I have noticed that change. I believe that change is good but that change should not make us forget about our cultural practices and traditions. Generation ahead should have documents and archives to look up to and I am contributing towards that. Through my photographs, books and films I want to reach out to larger people so that traditions do not become history with no reference to it. Also I liked the way the director has portrayed my life and the way she has captured the intensity and depth of my work. Many people who saw the documentary said that they never knew how my world changed while shifting between the two contrasting worlds and cultures,” said Robyn.
Her journey as a photographer started when she was 27, as an assistant to a photographer. Within two and a half years she learnt the tricks of the trade and then moved to England to work with the photographer who used to work extensively with countries like Japan and India.
“It was very interesting, the way he used to convey the essence of the country through his pictures. I learnt a lot from him and after he left I was on my own doing several collaborations and busy in the world of fashion photography,” said Robyn. Even while she was in England, doing a job which many would envy, she never really enjoyed the materialistic world and that can be one of the reasons that today she is liking her quite life in Vrindavan. She has an opportunity to be a part of festivities like Gopa Ashtami, Holi and Phool lila.
“I have never been bored. There are so many things to keep me motivated here. I keep doing pilgrimages for documenting and photography and have been to Kumbh. To record the living culture that exists in Vrindavan is a fulfilling experience. I have no diary dates to follow, whenever I want I can rush to the temples and capture the most vivid things. Apart from exhibiting my works at festivals and galleries like IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts) I also write books. I wrote a book Celebrating Krishna and I am doing a book on raaslila tradition,” she informed.