“My mother was not a feminist but liked confident women,” Robert Zyad Paris says, showing us photographs of women working in garment factories in East Germany, clicked by his mother Helga Paris. The photographs are part of an exhibition at Salar Jung Museum, as part of celebrations of 10 years of Goethe Zentrum, Hyderabad. “My mother had her own set of troubles. She raised us single-handedly but her outlook wasn’t that of a feminist. The women in these garment factories were proud of their work and didn’t consider themselves any less than executives. Their confidence reflects in their body language,” he says.
Born in 1938, Helga met a number of people engaged in art, theatre and creative artists after she met a painter, whom she later married. “One of my father’s friends, a filmmaker, encouraged her to take more photographs. She began by photographing us, the neighbours, bars and even trash collectors. These trash collectors were a connected lot since they had access to everyone’s homes,” says Zyad, pointing at pictures of trash collectors.
Helga’s photographs give an insight into life in East Germany from the 1950s to early 90s, from personal points of view. She takes us into street corners, children playing in parks and colonies that once had a Russian garrison. The photographs that capture the area left behind by Russians are a bit of a blur, to indicate her fuzzy childhood memories of watching them in the area.
In the 1980s, Helga did a series of self portraits capturing moods, energy levels and physical changes she went through over nine years. “She felt she changed so much within a short span of time and took self portraits to see how she looked and felt. All these images were captured in morning light,” says Zyad Paris.
Helga’s photographs are all in black and white and she processed the negatives in the dark room herself. “At that time, processing and printing in colour was expensive and the quality that came from commercial studios wasn’t good. She liked to develop photographs herself, highlighting the emotions of her subjects,” says Zyad.
‘Helga Paris Fotografie’ has already been showcased in Cochin and Bangalore and Zyad hopes to take it to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune and Karachi.
Zyad settled down in India after exploring many other countries. In the mid 1990s, he, like many others, felt the need to move out of East Germany for better prospects. “Most people wanted to move to the West. I worked in a bar for some time because the money was good. People are generous with tips after a few beers. One night, after a few beers, a friend told me he was leaving to India. I thought why not I do that too,” he says.
He visited Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Alleppey and Kollam during his first visit, fell in love with the country, particularly Kerala. “As a tourist, you observe the hospitality and how people give what could be their last bowl of rice to you. I wanted to know what makes them so generous. I kept returning.” In his 30s, he decided to get married in India, put out a matrimonial advertisement, and now lives in Kerala with his wife.
Now dividing his time between India and Germany, Zyad freelances in museum technique, helping institutions design museum galleries with the right lighting and display.
‘Helga Paris Fotografie’ is on view at Salar Jung Museum till December 20.
