Belgian photographer Pascal Mannaerts first visited India in 2000 as a backpacker and developed a deep admiration for the country. Since then, he has visited the country 10 times.
However, during his last three-month long visit, Pascal took up a project to photograph women who have been fighting against prejudice and intolerance in society.
The exhibition, titled “Fate Breakers”, captures the lives of women who have made a difference not only to their lives but to lives of those around them too. It captures the courage and will of the people who stood up and changed the direction in which life was taking them.
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Pascal calls himself a travel photographer but is not interested in taking pretty photographs. Instead, he digs deeper and explores the human aspect of life and tries to understand the social structure so that he can bring back strong images that tell stories about life in the country.
He has travelled extensively and worked in Palestine, Ethiopia, China and many places in Europe looking for stories.
Talking about his experience of shooting in India, especially with women who are sidelined in society, he says the women opened up to him naturally and it was not very difficult to be welcomed into their lives. He says the rules are the same anywhere in the world.
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“One must respect the culture and be aware of the traditions of the people you want to photograph. If your behaviour is kind and respectful when approaching someone, they open up naturally.”
Pascal feels his experience of working with women from Africa, who were seeking asylum in Belgium, helped him understand the problems of women trying to rebuild their lives, and this experience helped him while shooting. He says he never felt saddened while taking the photographs and hearing the stories. Although they were very sad, the optimism with which the women live with overpowers the sadness.
He feels that when the viewer views the photographs he/she should feel that if these women have been able to achieve so much, anything is possible. “It is the perfect example of fighting against all difficulties with courage.”
Some of the people featured in his photographs are widows living in an ashram in Vrindavan, women who have suffered acid attacks, trans-genders, people working to rehabilitate prostitutes and women who have broken the shackles of caste system to find respectable jobs.
The exhibition has been curated by Alliance Française de Delhi director Jean-Philippe Bottin, who says there are two ways to view the exhibition. One as a lover of photography and the other as someone who is deeply concerned by society and wants to view it from that perspective.
He has cut down the 2,000 photos taken by Pascal to the 50 photos on display. The exhibition begins on February 28 at the Alliance Française in Lodhi Estate.