The fast disappearing community of headhunters of the Konyak tribe are the subject of photographer Fanil Pandya first solo at The Egg Art Studio. Through his carefully trained lens, Fanil tries to create visual narratives of the tribe's culture. He unravels the process of creating those.
Edited excerpts:
Though headhunters of the Konyak tribe is an inaccessible community, in the last few years, a few photographers have tried to capture them and other fading tribes of the NE. How is your approach to different to theirs?
My photographs are intended to overcome both cultural and linguistic barriers and create aesthetic photographs intended to stand the test of time for future generations. With that intention in mind I ensure that my photos narrate the story of my subject as well as his/her environment. Usually portraits are aimed at highlighting the individuals, whereas my portraits attempt to highlight, both the individual and his/her environment. I feel that the environment a person lives, works and plays in reflects a lot about his/her culture and also conveys the context of the situation.
The way I stylize my photograph for different tribes is also adapted from the cultural aspects of different tribes. For example, in the case of Konyak headhunters where human heads play an integral role, I have adapted a very “in the face” approach, focusing only on close ups of my subject in ‘black and white’ to signify the importance of human heads in Konyak culture.
Fanil Pandya
When did you make these pictures and can you share the process of making them with us?
The way I try to create my visual narratives requires a lot of time. It doesn’t happen over quick trips. I have been to Nagaland twice and both the times I have stayed there for two weeks, the first time I went was in December 2015 and the second time was November 2016.
My process actually starts way before the actual shoot; I spend a lot of time researching about the people I am going to photograph. The most important things are accomplished before any images are taken. The actual event of taking a picture is the shortest. Before shooting, I am trying to understand the culture, the location, and the light. This involves reading books, watching documentaries, speaking to experts or travellers who have visited the place. I also try and make contact with individuals from the tribes I am visiting; mostly these are community leaders or guides.
I strongly believe that in order to understand the culture of a tribe you have to live with them. For all my trips I have always stayed with the tribes. Even though I live with them but I never try to pretend that I am one of them. It is important to make it known that I am outsider who has come to respectfully observe and document their way of life. I try and interact with the people I wish to photograph. The interaction helps me in creating the final visual narratives for each of my subjects. These interactions also help me, in making my subjects comfortable in front of the camera, which eventually lead to collaborations where my subjects are able to present things to the camera that shape who they are and where they are from.
What kind of exchange happened with the community?
I have stayed with a headhunter in both my trips. So on daily basis I use to interact with them, starting from the morning tea to the late night conversation with the elders of the village around the fireplace. I also got the opportunity to spend time with women and children who helped me create a holistic understanding of their culture. Through my interaction I have made some great friends who I always keep in touch with and want to meet again and again. The exchange of emotions is such that I have formed a bond with the place and the people. I feel that I have home tucked away in Longwa. There are number of initiatives I am working on with community leaders.
Can you explain the painterly quality of some of your pictures? Are there any major influences or art movements that you are inspired by?
I like to present seemingly “ancient” subjects with hints of contemporary elements. For example, I use contemporary device like flashes and reflectors to project lighting which is reminiscent of classical painters of the 17th-18th Centuries. The compositions of my pictures are also based on the concepts of classic portraits. Almost all my photos try to visually narrate the story of the individual and his/her environment. Like paintings I try embed messages in my photos where the viewer has to look deeper to see and interpret the message.
Just like painters; photographers also have only control over one sensory aspect to guide ones experience and that is ‘sight’. Therefore, visuals become vital to narrate the story.
What do you think about the genre of portraits? What freedom does its framework offer to a photographer for a subject like this?
There are about 200 different countries in the world, each country with its own unique culture and language. In this expanse of differences, it is almost impossible to convey clear messages through any one language. Photography, on the other hand, is a medium that can surpass language, cultural and geographic barriers. I find this idea of global understanding deeply fascinating.
Portraits in particular are an effective method for narrating visual stories; I feel that, unlike any other form of photographs, portraits have the ability to present the story of an individual in the most effective way; it enables a photographer to eternally express reality in the most profound manner.
What are you working on currently?
I am working on a long-term personal project, in which I intend to document cultures that are disappearing around the world. For this I have travelled to Indonesia, West Papua, Omo Valley and various places in India (Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kashmir, Rajasthan).
(The show is on at The Egg Art Studio, Narain Manzil, Barakhamba Road, till January 19, 2017)
