A man is seen yelling into his phone in a photograph around 30 feet in height. The man, a truck driver, has been nicknamed the ‘angry man’ by German designer and photographer Peter Kabel.
The ‘angry man’ and more than 25 other photos are part of an exhibition, NH8-The Road Kings, on display at the Old Distillery on Beach Road till September 9.
Kabel was certain he did not want to travel down the path of pretty photographs of India. There are already plenty of that, he says. “India is difficult to photograph but dig deeper than the first layer and there are stories to be told,” says Kabel. The quest took him to the 1,375-km NH8 which connects Mumbai and Delhi. “I was interested in examining the rapid changes taking place in India. This highway is a symbol of India in the throes of change and represents the breaking of traditional structures,” he says. His photographs, shot over the course of three months in the mid 2013, examine the tough life on the highway and its main characters, the crew who travel on trucks which undertake these long journeys. The photographs document the everyday life on the road and also examine dangers such as accidents and the high prevalence of HIV infection among the truck crew. Says Kabel: “A majority of goods in India are transported by road. In that sense, the trucks and their crew form the backbone of economy.”
He adds that he is delighted with the venue, the Old Distillery. “This place is interesting because of its history as an old distillery and now a space for art. It is also representative of change,” he says. The atmosphere at the Old Distillery fits the unique image of Puducherry. “Puducherry is not a regular place, after all,” he says.
The exhibition has been organised by Pondy ART, which has been running monthly photography exhibitions on challenges facing India, and is supported by the Puducherry government. The Old Distillery, where Pondy ART has also held the Pondy Photo 2014 festival, has become an important destination in the emerging trend of public art spaces, says Kasha Vande, creative director, Pondy ART.
“International photographers are keen on exhibiting in public spaces. While other cities also have public spaces, there aren’t others on this scale,” she says. “The exhibitions here offer visitors the chance to interact with photographs on a real level,” she adds.
The Hindu is the print media partner for the event.
