Guided by the mind's eye

Caught amidst the flurry of activities for the run-up to the Delhi Photography festival, Rakesh Nagar is busy working on tin-type and wet-plate photography using wooden cameras.

Metrolife spoke to this Delhi-based independent video journalist who is the curator for the photography exhibition - Vision Unseen that opened in India International Centre on 19 September. The exhibition showcases the works of three visually impaired photographers - Evgen Bavcar from Paris; Kuniaki Ito from Japan; and Flo Fox from USA Curator.

“In the year 1991, I had come across the works of Evgen Bavcar for the first time. Fascinated by his work, I researched upon other photographers around the world and got in touch with these three to put together their work for this exhibition. In the age of digital photography, where vision is going haywire their works standout as they manifest the power of mind’s vision”, says the curator, Rakesh Nagar.

 When asked about his choice of photographers from three different countries, he says, “Initially photography was born in France where it was named ‘photographie’ then it moved to America where it developed and reached common people and Japan modernised it by making picture taking a national culture in the country. In a way, Bavcar’s, Ito’s and
Flo’s work gives you a representation of the history of photography.”

Out of the three, it was Bavcar’s work that caught Metrolife’s attention at once when we went across the series of photographs. The long exposures, the presence of his hands in his work and the repetition of almost-dissolving elements in the frame entice
an observer.

According to the interpretation of one of his interesting compositions, ‘He makes us aware of his position by putting a finger on a plaque from 1829, declaring that music should be written in Braille so that the blind can listen to it. This silently declares his ideology. He chooses to reproduce images to make us privy to his way of seeing.” While Flo’s body of work makes us traverse  through the bylanes of Newyork, Kuniaki’s work is centred around human
activities; conversations, contemplations and dancing.