When the eye of a camera becomes a pilgrim, the odyssey is not an individual quest for spiritual fulfillment, but a herald of the journeys of those that it captures.

Acclaimed English photographer Tim Hall’s series on the ancient city of Varanasi, fittingly titled 'Pilgrimage' is a unique visual exploration of this timeless cradle of civilisation, which he calls “the seat of Hindu myth and reality”.

Hall’s series

The series, compiled during two of Hall’s trips to India in 2003 and 2006 is distinct in its ethereal quality, which is achieved by the use of 19th century print and his attempt to blur the line that separates painting and photography.

Encompassing the historical, spiritual and physical elements, the photographs trace the actual journey to Varanasi through the different means of transport, the surreal coexistence of the past and the present, the dilapidated architecture that personifies the passage of time, the rituals of reverence and ablutions that have remained unchanged for thousands of years and the intangible strength of the faith of the people as they immerse themselves in the glory of the Ganges.

“The mist was a godsend that helped me capture the spiritual magic,” says Hall, whose instinctual attraction to the serenity of water  that gave birth to the series ‘Seascapes’ and ‘Storm’ in his native England subtly dominates ‘Pilgrimage' as well.

Unlike most other Westerners, Hall was not jarred by the potent mysticism of the city. “I always take back humility from my travels to Asia, for the openness of the people and the culture,” he says. Though landscapes are his preferred themes, this self-confessed follower of the minimalist tradition believes that portraits are more alluring. “The most iconic images are of people, simple because people connect best with people.”

It is Hall’s old school artistic philosophy and romantic bent of mind that draws him toward the past.
Though his works bespeak of a certain nostalgia, there is an unmistakable contemporary feel to his work which is displayed all around the world.

‘Pilgrimage’ is on display at Sua House on Kasturba Road from November 10-25 between 11 am to 6 pm.