Faith in many dimensions

Ashok Koshy, Clare Arni, Ditmar Bolleart, James Nicholls, Pallon Daruwala and Yashas Chandra shared their visual interpretations through the lens of their cameras depicting faith in its many material, spiritual and psychological layers and meanings.

The photographs were a compelling glimpse into private and public spaces all in a religious context.
Ashok Koshy's rich jewel toned pictures taken in his home state Kerala ranged from high vaulted church interiors with angelic choir boys, lovely stained glass windows to a Jewish Rabbi stacking beautifully worked religious scrolls and ceremonially decked elephants at a temple.

Clare Arni's pictures of the ‘hermit’ state of Burma were simply stunning. Golden stupas and pagodas rising gently out of a softly green landscape; a solitary, pensive monk clad in red; arched buildings lit with the burnished glow from lamps.

“Burma is a country with a gentle, peaceful spirit completely at odds with the harsh military regime that it is forced to live by. The people are amazing and their lifestyle reflects a calmness and philosophy that is unique and inspirational,” she says.

Ditmar Bolleart, a Belgian artist focuses his lens on simple yet evocative symbols of faith that are quite unusual. Trees in a forest temple in Thailand dressed in monk like robes, plain arched doorways lit by a strange almost celestial light or flower offerings washed onto a rock.

American photographer James Nicholls has travelled to places as diverse as Varansai and Sudan to capture his poetic and philosophical impressions of different faiths. A priest praying in front of a whirlpool in the Ganges. The soft, soothing colours and whirlpool itself appearing like a divine eye channelling cosmic energy through its vortex. A row of black robed sisters on Easter morning at a church in Jerusalem, a dark skinned hand, holding a string of rosary beads against a wooden doorway in Sudan.
Pallon Daruwala’s intriguing pictures use the play of light and shadow very effectively in his series that vary from a close up of a stone foot to arched enclaves with religious statuary and books.

Yashas Chandra's photographs taken on the streets of Delhi during the October festival month is a study of the collective and individual facets of the different religious celebrations in the City.
A human carpet of families spread out on a giant picnic site at Ramzan, an intimate group of elderly folks sitting outside a mosque or a woman in indigo robes.

The exhibition is on till October 30 at Time and Space Gallery, Lavelle Road.