What India offers to the world’s best photographers is inspiration that goes beyond surface beauty. The themes open to lensmen on our shores are rich with diversity, complexity and vibrancy. Some internationally reputed photographers have, in the past, made India their home for months together. These artists have one unifying factor in spite of the variety in their work. They are all protégés of the renowned Magnum Photo Agency.
Magnum Ke Tasveer or Magnum’s Vision of India is a select exhibition of some of the best photographs of India. Eight international photographers — along with India’s own Raghu Rai —come together to present their best work from Magnum’s vast archive at Tasveer Arts. Magnum’s association with India began with its founder-member Henri Cartier-Bresson’s famous photographs of the last days and funeral of Gandhi in 1948. Not long after, Swiss photographer Werner Bischof photographed a young temple dancer for Generation X, one of Magnum’s group projects.
Magnum was responsible for Marilyn Silverstone coming to India on a three-month assignment. However, she stayed on until 1973. Iranian photographer Abbas found himself returning to the country on a project that dug deeper into global religions; some of the best images of pilgrimage and mediation centred in India come from his portfolio. Indian street life, its ebb and flow and its character in the 1980s was captured best in Bruno Barbey’s colour photographs and Scianna’s bold black and white collection. One of the masters in colour and light, Steve McCurry was enamoured with the direct gaze of subjects. He employed this approach and presented a range of pictures that are remarkable for their vibrant palate. Olivia Arthur’s work converges on portraits of the Ramnami sect; this group of untouchables bear unique tattoos on their bodies as a form of protest against the Indian caste system. These extraordinary photographs now feature in the Magnum exhibition at Tasveer and showcase some remarkable facets of India.
Magnum’s Vision of India
Where:Cinnamon, Walton Road, Bangalore
When:Till March 1.
