Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest |

Tale of two cities framed

Feet first Vivek M. chooses to tell his stories in chalk and grey

Striking images from urban life, far from the glitter of small, affordable cars and sky-high shopping dreams, grab eyeballs at Urban Changes, the ongoing exhibition at Max Mueller Bhavan/Goethe Institut. Photographs in black and white and colour have been put together by a workshop conducted by Andrea Kuenzig, a Berlin-based photographer. Three Bangalore-based photographers — Clare Arni, Mahesh Shantaram and Vivek M. with four photographers from South Asia — Alefiya Akbarally and Jagath Dheerasekara from Sri Lanka, Sohail Abdullah from Pakistan and Baptist Coelho from Mumbai have strung together changing moments in urban life.

Drawing from two cities, — Mumbai and Bangalore — the photographers have captured the effect of urban development on the lives of people. Jagath Dheerasekara’s images interestingly titled “Sweet sugarcane” in colour project the livelihood and lifestyle of workers employed in the profitable sugarcane industry. The poetic, period photo of a tea stall in Mumbai in midnight hues capture life that is constantly on the move in a moment of brief recreation and conversation. The ironic snapshot of a man sleeping next to a trader’s shop amongst sugarcane juxtaposes the lives of traders and workers who live in deplorable conditions. The colours are bleak and austere. The black tar roads are set against the sharp yet muted tones of sugarcane.

Vivek M’s poignantly and vividly tells the “Scavenger’s tale”. The exhibits show dispossessed people forced to take up manual scavenging and construction labour. Says the surgeon turned photographer: “I was working on a documentary on the inmates of a destitute shelter in Hennur. I noticed these people whose land was developed into housing sites. Part of it was used as a dumping yard.” His interest in human relationships led Vivek to learn about these people. “Though change is inevitable, I wanted to portray how this community has adapted to urban change.” Pictures of the women rummaging through rubbish with smoke snaking in the background, a woman’s feet affected by her work and women making their meals in unhygienic conditions show a stark reality in interested tones of chalk and grey, not black and white.

Mahesh Shantaram’s “Portrait of a Neighbourhood” show mundane moments of a typical new, unplanned middle-class colony next to an airport. Again, leaps in development against middle-class aspirations draw an interesting parallel. Shades of pinks and yellows in the photos taken at dusk, show people walking, dogs sleeping and women talking on their phones.

Clare Arni’s “Cityscape” portrays the dying art of silk weavers and dyers in Chickpet and the fishing communities of Worli and Machimanagar in Mumbai. Again, arresting colours and tints mark her photos as she captures the communities going about their daily work. Two contrasting images are of an elderly man lying in the metal tub and one of debris.

Alefiya Akbarally’s “Urban Fabric” is a running thread of images that underlines the lifestyle of the dhobi ghat in Saat Rasta near Mahalaxmi station in Mumbai where more than 200 dhobis reside. Alefiya captures myriad shades of the textiles that dominate the basic fabric of the washing community.

Sohail Abdullah’s images using only structures and landmarks as witnesses of urban change, are artistic. The Mahesh Textile Mill at Colaba that is a popular film and commercial set and P. De Mello Road in Mumbai are buildings, which have stood the test of time and change. The play of light and colours are mesmerising as is his ability to use thoughtful structures as imprints of urban change.

Baptist Coelho’s use of a modern shutter that give a glimpse to his photographs are innovative attempts at capturing urban views of change.

“Urban Changes” is on at Max Mueller Bhavan, No. 716 CMH Road, Indiranagar 1st Stage till July 31, 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Visit www.goethe.de/urbanchanges or call 25205305/6/7/8.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail