Shraddha Rathi was a painter until the benches at Central Park in New York compelled her to pick up a camera.
“Grazie Infinite” is the resulting series of black-and-white photographs currently on display at Sublime Galleria in the city. Elegant compositions weave a poetic narrative around these wooden and concrete benches bearing the names of their sponsors.
Sharaddha says she took pictures of the benches as a traveller but with an interest in their story and the underlying message. “I was moved reading the emotional messages people put on these plaques. Their messages of love, respect, care and appreciation were beautiful. Central Park is a commissioned park and I realised with citizens as its stakeholders, it is taken care of very well.”
Amidst the collection of photographs, there is a single painting of Cubbon Park. The artist says that like Central Park, Cubbon Park is also a commissioned park. “I want to leave people with a thought about their park. I am planning to travel with the show, the next one being planned in Chennai, and everywhere I go, I intend to include a painting of their local park,” says Shraddha, who had her first solo at Mahua Art gallery in 2009. The title Grazie Infinite emerged from her trip to Venice Biennale. “Travelling there I realised how grateful and thankful people are for their life and happiness and thinking about a title for this show, it just came up. Grazie Infinite means infinite thanks or thank you so much.”
To enable people to relate to the venue in focus, Shraddha has made black and white images. While doing that the photographer also turns the expectation of a park’s portrayal in colour, on its head.
“When done in black and white, it looks like it could be anywhere. So you feel a sense of belonging. Moreover, black and white images look timeless and classic,” explains the artist.
Two installations — a wooden see-saw and a gratitude bench are also part of the show. On the bench and the see-saw, the artist has engraved messages of gratitude. The gratitude bench was in fact, exhibited earlier this year at Whitefield Art Collective.
(The exhibition is on at Sublime Galleria, 8th Floor, UB City, Vittal Mallya Road, till August 31)
