Hair and There

The first thing you notice about Oriane Zerah,a French photo journalist who has been travelling around Pakistan,Kabul and India,is her fascination with Indian culture. At the opening of her exhibition,at the Galerie Romain Rolland,Alliance Francaise,titled “Something About Hair”,dressed in a blue salwar kameez,she was handing out namastes by the dozen. Consisting of 51 images of women with dark,lustrous hair,the photographs are a result of her travels across India,in Kochi,Orissa,Jaipur and Jaisalmer. “In India,long hair is considered an asset,and used as an accessory. While reporting,we have to stick to the brief given to us. In this exhibition,I could experiment with contrast and exposure,” she says. There are a bunch of photographs where the models have struck the Kali pose,with hair over their face,using a knife as a prop and dramatic body language. Each photograph is a story for Zerah. “I used my imagination and asked my models to just go crazy with their tresses,” she says. Midway through our conversation,Zerah’s phone rings. The ringtone is Bairi Piya from Bhansali’s Devdas. We ask her if she is a fan of Bollywood and she gives us a happy nod. Perhaps that is why she has used colours in her photographs. “I’ve particularly played around with a white-red combination,which is deliberate in showing the widow-marriage juxtaposition in women. My next stop will be Africa,” says Zerah.

The exhibition is being held at the Alliance Francaise till 1 June.

Contact: 43500200