Forty student photographers from Tamil Nadu capture the state, its people and culture through photographs clicked on smartphones. His work is currently on view at the Government Museum, Egmore.
Forty student photographers from Tamil Nadu capture the state, its people and culture through photographs clicked on smartphones. His work is currently on view at the Government Museum, Egmore.
In the midst of early summer, the soft afternoon sun drapes the Government Museum in a translucent golden hue. One of the city’s favorite spots is back in its pre-pandemic glory, as students lounge once again outside the Connemara Public Library with a book or two, and parents take an afternoon walk with their little ones. let’s go to. The beloved museum complex once again stands as a world apart, in the middle of a busy city, engulfed by relentless weekday traffic: a scene reminiscent of happy, mask-free times.
While the iconic Museum Theater remains closed due to renovations scheduled for the year, other parts of the complex have seen some welcome changes. It now houses an open air theater (OAT), an exhibition space called the Hub that sits comfortably under a canopy of trees, and a lounging area in front of the Plaza: Connemara Library.
The Hub today houses vignettes from across the state, as photographs drawn by young talent from Tamil Nadu are displayed in large format prints. Nestled under the trees, A Land of Stories – a showcase organized by the Goethe-Institut and the Chennai Photo Biennale, starring 40 students from across Tamil Nadu – has been seen in space for the first time since its completion in March 2021.
A vegetable and fruit shop in Koyambedu market. photo credit: M Anusha
From the colorful Koyambedu market in the early hours to Thanjavur fields and Puducherry birds, the displays include images clicked on smartphones by children from government and private schools in the state, advised on the pandemic by the education wing of the Chennai Photo Biennale.
Eighteen-year-old M Anusha, from Chennai’s Ajay Higher Secondary School of the Hearing Impaired, prompts us enthusiastically about her love for Millennium Park and Koyambedu Bazaar, where she finds most of her subjects: whether it is the leaves that one unknowingly Produces the green web or rows of bright red tomatoes that keep a vegetable shop in the foreground. One interpreter translates, “The patterns on the colorful butterflies, and the many flowers and plants, have always fascinated me.” She vows to keep clicking wherever she goes. For 13-year-old Tanijashree from Vidya Mandir, Mylapore, the most challenging aspect of her stunning shot of a dilapidated Ferris wheel reflection at Marina Beach was that the water would not stand still.
“It was easy to shoot on the phone but the water kept moving! Nowadays, I make sure to click wherever I go,” says Tanijashree, who has been training with CPB since 2020. Fourteen-year-old Santino R. Samurai was shot in the frame, which depicts “the daily life of a farmer”. The paddy fields of Thanjavur where his grandmother lives. The young talent is also doing freelancing for clients.
Rakshita chose her vibrant Chennai neighborhood for this frame. photo credit: Rakshita Rajagopal
Sixteen-year-old Rakshita Rajagopal’s preoccupation with the dogs and cats in her neighborhood comes through in many of her frames—she points to one and laughs, “Her name is Corgi, but she’s not a corgi.” Rakshita further says, “From a young age, I used to feed my street dogs. I loved him dearly over the years. And they became my subjects. One particularly striking image shows a cat, holding an iconic pose with a dark coat similar to that of the night, perched between pink and blue columns and the adjoining apartment walls. The contradiction is laudable.
Gayatri N, head of education at CPB, says, “This is the third time we are doing a public program with children and it is the biggest ever.” She adds that this collaboration saw students from the Goethe-Institut’s language courses, as well as CPB Prism, already under her mentorship at the end of 2021. The students used iPhones provided by CPB. “Every weekend, we planned photowalks with him in small groups. We curated these photowalks because we wanted to see different aspects of the city. And, we wanted the kids to have fun – we didn’t want it to become another assignment.” She also worked with NGOs like Nalandawe and Shishu Shakti.
Jayatra captured the ongoing cricket match. photo credit: Jayatra
The selected group of 40 young photographers is a delightfully diverse mix from across the state. They all also have different interests, says Gayatri. For example, some are just interested in going out and meeting new people; others in architecture. Over time, Gayatri says her curriculum has evolved. “Now, it is a 12-week course. It’s comprehensive and includes simple things like photo terminology, lines, shapes, colors, and contrast. Then this leads to composition and the rule of thirds. The focus is always on the power of seeing things – when you look at something, how do you see and frame it?” Gayatri concludes that not a single picture is as important to her as storytelling or pictures. language to be
Whether the lone cow in the company of storks in the background of the TNEB Transformer, or the cross section of Fort St George, these 120 frames point to a narrative: a land, its people, culture and heritage.
A Land of Stories will be on view at the Government Museum, Egmore from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. until April 17.