A group exhibition by international photographers explored the concepts of memory and human interaction. S Arora spoke to the artists
There was a group of photographs of people and streets of Delhi, taken quite spontaneously, while another set of photographs showcased the vibrant holi celebrations of the country. There were another collection of photographs of places which looked as if the photographer intended to keep the photos as a memory. It was a group exhibition of three photographers who bonded over their common interest in the little things in life like memory and human relationships.
The exhibition, titled Traces, held at the Galerie Romain Rolland at Alliance Francaise, also has photos of Marie langlest (France) and Alan Rubin (US). “We have captured the most delightful moments of our past as a keep sake; to always have the warmth of the memories beside us in the form of pictures,” said Chvetsova and added that the photographs traces their journeys across countries like Russia, london, Hungary and India.
What was interesting to find out was that these three photographers have nothing in common expect for their love of looking at the world through their lens and “love for capturing the moments in time which are perfect in their imperfection.”
They have been working together for more than a year and have no plans of digressing from their collaboration. “Working together has enriched our work and the way we perceive life,” said langlest. In this particular exhibit she traced her own past and experience in her pictures, while Rubin explored the concept of shared humanity by capturing the everyday, mundane street moments of Old Delhi. Chvetsova, on the other hand, functioned somewhere between the two by pursuing the personal experiences of the people (in their own cultural context) she had come across in life.
Chvetsova specialises in travel photography and she has been photographing the cultural nuances and festive celebrations of various lands, particularly India, since 2009. The most stunning out of the myriad of frames put on display by her was the one which portrayed a woman, dressed in ghaghra choli, barely visible in between the cloud of Holi colour surrounding her. She explained, “It makes one think of the ephemeral nature of life — how one minute we are breathing in the colours of life and the very next we are erased out of existence.”
She has also photographed festivals like Muharram and Durga Puja. Her photos titled Holi and Monkey have been preselected for the Sony World Photography Awards. There are also a lot of landscape shots from her home country Russia. When asked about her experience in India, she said, “India is very rich, you can find everything. I remember how I shot Ashura in Old Delhi with a Muslim community and the next day I went to a Sikh procession.”
Rubin, who moved to India two and a half years ago, had to wander the streets of Old Delhi for months, in order to capture the perfect mesmerising moments which lay in the beauty of everyday life. “I specifically did black and white photography because then you get to see the underlying play of emotions better.” His pictures capture the beauty in everyday humane interactions and experiences, with the kind of understanding that can only come when somebody has truly become a part of the Indian culture, specifically that of Delhi. There is nothing exotic about his style rather than it is Indian in every respect.
Through her photographs, langlest documents the places she has visited like london, Kuala lumpur and Kerala. The photos are memories of her times spent there and she chooses not to talk about her connect with the places. “I cannot tell you my story because it is mine to remember and cherish. Moreover I don’t want to impose my story onto others. I want my audience to link their own stories to the visuals that my work offers,” said langlest. Her biggest exhibit, placed at the heart of the gallery, was that of a hotel room in the bustling city of Budapest.
The view of the rustic, old and worn out buildings, seen from the window of a high rise hotel had semblances of an oil painting. “When it comes to choosing a handful of photographs from the odd 1,000 that we clicked, things were challenging. We talked and built up a story that we want to depict through the frames. Sometimes we spend months looking at a range of photographs and then choose only those that continue to interest us even after looking at them for months,” said langlest.
“We were able to critique each other’s work, which was invaluable. We will collaborate in the future as well,” ended Rubin.