Vickram Dhayalan

The photgrapher made his model stand in the streets of Chennai for 90 minutes and captured the reactions of the poeple...

Impressions of the exhibition

Reviews of "Role Models & Power Relations" opened today at Elliot's Beach

"Art Chennai is a jewel in the crown of Chennai and this exhibition is the most shining diamond in it".
~Dr. Stefan Weckbach, Consul General of Germany

"An open exhibition which provides art for everyone. Some pictures really touched me. I am looking forward to the next events".
~Julia

"We love that it is in the open. The pics are great but the lighting could be a little better."
 "I like that the topic is not straight forward. All the pictures are open for interpretation. One can view the pictures individually or as a composition."
~Shobana, Sarvatmika & Group

"Photographs with captions will help everyone to understand easily."
~Mohan

"It is great that the public can appreciate the artistic visual representation  of day to day life. Photography is now breaking barriers and encountering the reality of life. I sometimes feel that photographs are difficult to understand. Volunteers explaining the theme would help the common man understand better."
~Muralidharan Alagar, Photographer

"I find the photographs absolutely amazing. It's wonderful to know that these are photographs depicting real people and have been done in the last two weeks specially for the project. People will relate to it and have different perceptions. It is something everyone will connect to"
~Arundhati Menon, Founder of Shilpi

"Very emotional and I can see a lot of people coming through and discussing which is very important. I don't know what the pictures convey but emotionally it touched me. It's a little hard to understand but very emotional."
~Mikael G.

The photographer exposed an Indian bride in different scenes and creates contradiction.

(C) Jvack Toto - screene name

Ami Gupta

Anyone and everyone deserves respect.

“Buri Nazar wale, tera muh kala”

If you look at me with eyes full of bad intentions, may your face turn black!

This is the theme I have chosen for my photography project. After very interesting conversations and discussions, on a complex topic like Role Models and Power Relations, we were trying to look at the plight of the middle class Indian woman today. Whether she is bold or submissive, she is often subject to men who look at her in a way that completely objectifies her. She often becomes a ‘thing’ to gaze at, a ‘thing’ to touch and tease. Men look at her in a way that makes her feel completely exposed even while she is fully clothed. While she is so vulnerable at times, when going back home from work or even if she is going to the market… she has to be wary at all times. 

So the photos I have worked on, depict girls traveling by bus, or a share auto, or sipping on tea at the local tea shop and how they are ‘eyed’ by certain men with ‘buri nazar’ and its like she curses them ‘terah muh kaala’ (may your face turn black). If only it would happen in real life! 

Ami Gupta

Rahul Shah

 

Last 10 days were quite a experience while attending the Photography workshop by German Photographers Else Gabriel and Andreas Rost, which was organized by Goethe Institute in Chennai.   

The project I chose to work on was "Thirunangai" ( its Tamil word for trans-gender ). The word, 'Thirunangai' means 'most respectful woman' , which is far from reality in india where Trans-genders are objects of discrimination. Through this series I am trying to frame their lifestyle and their relation with the world around them.  

It was a very different and unique experience for me. The story I chose wasnt easy to work on especially being non-tamil guy. But through this workshop,I learnt the process of developing a subject in photography language and to make a visual yet meaningful impact while developing the story. Thanks to the two mentors, Else Gabriel and Andreas Rost, who really taught me to see the subject in different light and changed not only how I photograph but also how I see the world. And I also want to thank you my Rickshaw Driver for helping me with language and dealing with subject delicately.

Rahul Shah

Saurabh Chatterjee

Ioulia Chvetsova

 

During the photography workshop “Role Models & Power Relations” I wanted to work on domestic violence. According to Renuka Chowdhury around 70% of indian women are victims of this curse. One week is a short time to get close to the survivors… 

I had an opportunity to visit the shelter supervised by the NGO PCVC in Chennai. It was a day of the art therapy. Girls did their puppets from recycling materials and then they created the small family story. The ambience was really joyful. 

The girls had traumatizing experience in their lives. I admire their strength. They are aristocratic people for me.

Ioulia Chvetsova

Justine de Penning

History once shifted, justifies a future; who is to say who belongs where. In 1780 a Marie Sice married a Pierre de Penning in Our Lady Angels Church, Tranquebar. In this photography based performance work, artist Justine de Penning traces her roots in India dating back to the early 17^th Century (1712). She uses the colonial stereotype to re-visit her ancestral town and reframe the historical myth of the white woman as a tragic exile in the colony (as obstacle in the process of the masculine imperial enterprise) to create a shift in the focus towards a new kind of construction of identity, a failed nostalgic journey that plays with place and time. 

Justine de Penning