NEW DELHI, July 10:
Works by two Korean photographers taken predominantly in Ladakh, Varanasi and Dharamshala over a period of 20 years form part of a new exhibtion here that juxtaposses their photographs with those taken by an Indian photographer.
Oh Chul Man who has travelled to India several times since 1997 has put together a picture showcase of the essence of Indian culture, religion and people from different walks of life.
“Everything in Indian inspires me, I take a look at what’s going on and try to understand it. India always fulfills my expectation and from top to bottom I can see everything in terms of inspiration, its culture and richness” he says.
Man’s work he has titled “Walking in the Silence” is featured in the one monthlong exhibtion “Kkum.Ddang.India, “Dream Land India” that was inagurated at the Korean Cultural Center here last evening.
His photographic landscapes capture Varanasi and Dharamshala.
Photographs of the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist monks grouped together under the title “Kalchakra Buddhist Script” by artist Lee Young Ja are also on display.
Ja who is also known as Aruna holds a degree in Tibetan Buddhism from Delhi University and has been capturing images of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan culture and Tibetans from 1996.
“As a Buddhist, I take pictures through my lens of my subjects and I have felt it to be my means wherein my ego is projected, so I try to use this as means for my discipline. While I was in the midst of all this, I was able to take a picture of the Dalai Lama as if I was pulled by some strange connection and I have been taking his pictures for the past twenty years,” says Aruna.
The photographer says “Out of all the Indian regions, Ladakh was the place that stood out for me.”
She landed up in Ladakh over 20 years ago alone and ever since has been going back to take pictures.
Over a period of 15 years, Aruna says she has opened 7 exhibitions and her works include “The Sound of the Sea” (1989), “Immortal India” (1990), “Lotus” (1994) and the “Silk Road Nude Photo Essay (1999).
Meanwhile the Korean Centre exhibition also displays photographs developed with the ‘Salt print’ – an archaic photographic process for producing positive prints during the period from 1839 through approximately 1860, by artist B Ajay Sharma.
A graduate in Fine Art from Banaras Hindu University, all photographs by Sharma have been inspired from a Hindi novel by Kashinath titled “Kashi ka Assi”. The photographs are a four year journey of the artist to find his roots and explore the ritualistic milieu of Varanasi, including the city’s famed Assi ghat.
“I deal with the memory space and life. It is a core element of my work and I always try to play with that. Banaras is a place where we find these elements. After coming to Delhi I would miss that flavour of the ghats. I always wondered how I could transfer that into my work and that is how the idea came,” says Sharma.
The exhibition is on display till August 7. (PTI)
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