Reading Photographs - Exhibition Visit
Arpitah Shah , Nalini Exhibition, Street Level Photoworks
The piece I have chosen is a Triptych of images as above, it is untitled and I like this as it leaves the interpretation completely with the viewer. They are naturally lit and seem to have been shot on a medium format camera giving them a richness of detail and true colour. The tones throughout the exhibition are muted and this gives a feeling of calm and intimacy, I don’t think the impact would be the same in black and white, to me the colours speak about India, the clothes, the flowers, and the soft light.
The works are almost life-sized, framed and hung in a sequence , the first of a lying woman showing the backs of her legs which are scarred and exposed, the second of a Lily pond, and the third of a young woman, back towards us, apparently sleeping (possibly grandmother/granddaughter). It suggests that the photographer has a close relationship with the subjects and is in a position of trust, particularly in the first image, both in terms of the legs exposed and the revealed scars. I think she will also have given the subjects direction on how she wanted them positioned and what her thoughts were about how the images might be used later; the juxtaposition of age and youth; how life changes ones body, and how our scars tell our life story. For me the depiction of the lily pond in the centre could be many things, a central place for the family, a calmness that runs throughout, a depth of connectedness, again I am glad the work is untitled as it gives so many options. I really liked this piece and the exhibition as a whole , particularly the interconnectedness of the family artefacts with the images.