A rush of emotions confronts you at the exhibition of photographs at Durbar Hall Art Gallery — the joy of motherhood, the naughty gleam in a child’s eye, the meditative trance of an oracle or the mad frenzy of fire dancing. The photographs are random, capturing the beauty and expectation of a fleeting moment. Bobinson K.B., the photographer, says most of these visuals have marked a turning point for him. “It is like a tick mark on the path on which you are walking,” he says, explaining the story behind each frame.
Most often than not, it is the moment just before something happens that makes a powerful picture, says Bobinson. Each frame has multiple layers, which may or may not choose to reveal themselves. “Of course, it is up to the viewer to derive his/her own conclusions from the picture,” he says, “but there are definitive tales behind every angle.”
The exhibition, titled ‘Anargha Nimishangal’ is a collection of 26 photographs reflecting a clutch of unique moments from life.
One of the photographs shows a Buddhist monk, barely four years old, sitting between two grown up monks. His hands are folded and his face is filled with an expression of guileless curiosity. The picture was taken at the Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh. When Bobinson walked into the monastery, he saw the child and felt an instant emotional connect with him. “The monks were in prayer and the room was not well lit. The picture may not be technically perfect. But the emotion just had to be immortalised,” he says. One could perhaps pick up innumerable threads of a socio-political discourse from the photograph — the fate of Tibetan refugees and the helplessness of children who are sent to the monasteries in their early childhood to begin with. But none of it really will match up to the intensity of feeling the picture imparts.
Another photograph shows a man inspecting his boot, the ground covered with snow. The picture was shot when he was visiting Quebec, Canada. A military armoury had caught fire and people had gathered to watch the commotion that ensued. Bobinson chose to freeze this particular frame, a lonely figure enveloped by snow. “It is all about what you feel at that moment,” he says.
An engineer who graduated from the REC, Calicut, Bobinson does not know how exactly he got into photography. He has been taking pictures for the last eight years, without any formal training. However, he has had several accomplished mentors, who have guided him through the aesthetic lessons of photography. Painting was a passion, so was software. But photography is something he holds close to his heart. His fascination for life, literature, poetry and travelling perhaps brings in the lyrical quality to his frames. The exhibition is on till September 3.
