The moon is in the wheelbarrow, the moon is a lamp on a tripod so you can read a book underneath, the moon is in your cup of tea and it’s in the picture frame, the moon is a ball for the little girls, it’s also balloon and if you want, you could just lasso it right down to earth.
That’s the enchanting illusion that Laurent Lavader creates through his series of photographs, part of the “Astrophotography” section of the “Fete de la Photo” displayed around the walls of the J.N. Planetarium.
The Fete de la Photo is an exhibition of photography in public space. In its first edition, the festival brings photography to four locations around the city, including the planetarium.
The section also features photographs of star trails and the Indian night sky by Ajay Talwar and photographs of celestial objects or the phenomena like the Northern Lights by Thierry Legault.Ajay captures the phenomena of the Indian night sky both in the famous landmarks of its cities as well as in the isolated corners of its rural heartlands, whether it’s the moon on the glittering banks of the Ganges, Jupiter in the heart of Delhi or the night sky over a Leh panorama.
But one of the highlights of his work is the star trails, which Laurent is also shown to have captured in a few photographs.
“The stars are always moving across the sky and the camera captures these moving stars as lines across the sky, called star trails. Star trails are becoming popular among photographers today,” says Ajay, who was invited to join “The World At Night” project for his work in astrophotography.
“And so I travel across the country, to different cities as well as observatories and some of the biggest natural wonders to photograph them at night with the stars and the other celestial objects,” he adds.
The “Fete de La Photo”, in no particular order, then takes the viewers across the Alliance Francaise, where the “Paris series” by Amit Mehra and Shome Basu is on display.
The series, in black and white, captures the beauty of Paris and its architecture in the glow of the night lights. Amit and Shome , capture the sights of the Seine river at night. They also capture some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, the pyramids of the Louvre and the palace, the Arc Du Triomphe or the Eiffel Tower.
While the “India series” by Xavier Zimbardo, Amit Mehra and Nitin Akolya on display at the Rangoli Metro Art Centre captures the riot of colours of India, both in festivity and in the inherent sense of divinity in its temple towns, or even in everyday life on the streets.The exhibition also features macrophotography by David Chambon and Magali Couffon at Richard’s Park.
“The ‘Fete de la Photo’ founded on the same lines as the ‘Fete de la Musique’, aims to bring art out of galleries and make it accessible to the larger public,” says Prutha Narke, cultural co-ordinator, Alliance Francaise. The Fete has been organized by Institut Français and the Embassy of France in India, in partnership with Alliance Française network.
The ‘Fete de la Photo’ will be on view until March 15 at the J.N. Planetarium, Alliance Francaise, Rangoli Metro Art Centre and Richard’s Park. For details, contact 40808181.
