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Journalism of Courage
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This is an archive article published on February 24, 2013
Vocabulary of an Image
Why cant people read photographs? Its not a question,but a reflection that sets the premise for an evening with Dayanita Singh.
Why cant people read photographs? Its not a question,but a reflection that sets the premise for an evening with Dayanita Singh. A bookmaker who works with photography,an artist who presents images on various surfaces and in myriad contexts,a photographer whose work is a visual narrative,Singh subscribes to the idea of the mobility of an image. For more than three decades now,Singh has been finding eclectic ways to present her photographs. The medium will be at a dead end,unless we find new forms in photography, said Singh,who presented a slide show of her works and charted her not so black and white journey during the ongoing Amrita Sher-Gil National Art Week.
Her first photographic series documented tabla maestro Zakir Hussain,one she describes as her ticket to freedom. It was at his concert where I was pushed by the organiser and could not take photographs. I went up to Hussain,who told me to come to his hotel the next morning and it was here that I was drawn to the idea of becoming a photographer, said Singh,who has travelled with the musician for many years now.
I was at the National Institute of Design,Ahmedabad,and decided to come up with a book about the institute. With interviews,photographs and layouts,it became my first book in 1986, said Singh. Bringing together words and images,starting with this one,Singh now has 10 books to her credit. She traded her dowry to study in New York,which was followed by a stint in photojournalism. I got $10,000 from Robert Frank to do a project,and it allowed me a sense of freedom that I cant describe. Yes,my life does sound like a Hindi film story, said Singh.
Her earliest photographic series are in black-and-white,and she still mostly used black-and-white film,with digital technology completely missing from her bag. I shoot from my belly, she said and laughed out loud. Making books with hands,Singh likes to work away from galleries and talks about her dissemination of photography.
With her accordion book Chairs in 2001,Singh gave 10 books each to friends and asked them to disseminate the books to other friends. Singh has transformed seven of her journeys into a series of books known as Sent a Letter. Each was made as gift for a friend,and is a set of seven accordion folded books. Each book has about 15 photographs,a reminder of the time spent together. There is no text,just clues and secrets to be discovered through the pictures.
An important series is Singhs documentation over a period of 13 years of Mona Ahmed,her closest friend. Singh chronicles Monas life,her adopted daughter,banishment from the community of eunuchs and her existence in the graveyard. Its a moving story,and I wish to make a movie on it,but have not been able to so far, said Singh as she showcased her more recent photographs that have an element of colour like the Blue Book series a book of postcards. The visual storytelling continues in House of Love,a work of photographic fiction that takes the form of nine short stories. Working with writer Aveek Sen,Singh explores the relationship between photography,memory,and writing.
Her latest project is File Room,which is six-feet tall,with more than 140 images and is,in itself,an archive of archives. I subscribe more to an ongoing journey,with books and bookmaking an integral part of this process, said Singh.
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