An exhibition of evocative black and white photographs of Bhutan, taken over a decade ago by Serena Chopra, reveals the country’s soul
In 2002, Serena Chopra visited Bhutan for the first time and left a part of herself behind, reclaiming it on her many visits since. Her first trip was a usual vacation with friends but she saw something else through her lens. A warmth that led her to make friends with her local subjects. Such was the karmic connect that they offered her their homes so that she could tell their stories.
“Bhutan has held a special attraction for me since 2002. My next trip was in 2007. I decided to bring out a book of black-and-white photographs of the people I met, who later became my family.” She spent five years photographing a community as it experienced a shift towards modernity and put it together as Bhutan, A Certain Modernity (2007). Wide views of the rural mountainous landscape flow into voyeuristic flashes of dancers at a nightclub; many of the same individuals from the clubs are seen intimately praying at home or in a temple. Portraits of the royal family mingling with images of farmers in the hills, invoking the spectrum of serenity and chaos of Bhutan as it crosses the past and the future.
land-locked between India and China, and isolated for centuries, the kingdom of Bhutan is known for its remarkable mission-statement of “Gross National Happiness.” At the crossroads in its history, its visionary monarch, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who originally coined the term Gross National Happiness in the 1970s, decided to invest in the creation of a new modern society that matured gently while remaining rooted in its faith, identity and culture, even while opening its doors to economic and technological advancement.
“It was my personal choice to shoot in black and white. For me, these are more effective and I can express the essence of my subject when its stripped of the way I am accustomed to seeing things.”
Chopra’s vivid and classical photographs span everyday life in Bhutan and provide insights into the challenges faced by the Bhutanese people as they strive towards a more holistic idea of modernity that is inclusive of their heritage. So she captures everything from the bustling, modern capital of Thimphu with its beauty salons, pool clubs and teens smartly dressed for disco nights, to the quiet, contemplative gazes of the herders, the nuns and the farmers in remote regions, such as Merak and loto Kuchu, where the traditional ways of life remain frozen in time. For Chopra, the journey into Bhutan was also one of self-discovery as the beautiful country drew her deeper into her first love, photography. She says “My inner experience of Bhutan, with my camera at hand, has been very special: a journey that in some way has dissolved much within me, enabling me to reveal and expand myself.”