Art, Buddhism, photography and spirituality – all these elements define the latest photography exhibition of artist Atul Dhir.
‘The Awakening of the Dawn – Sukhothai’ exhibition is a series of photographs taken by Atul at Sukhothai, the ancient former capital city of Thailand.
“I am not a Buddhist but it’s a piece of artwork that is meant to release positive
energy around,” says Atul. “Every photograph gives you peace and calmness and makes you feel complete.”
Atul has labelled each of these pictures in a spiritual context, like nirvana, enlightenment, wisdom and lotus to depict every aspect related to Buddhism. The one labelled nirvana has the moon shining over Buddha’s head.
“The moon is creating an image of a halo. To get this picture I had to wait for hours,”
says Atul.
Interestingly, the 45-year-old has been working on the photographs for last six months.
With the help of software he has digitally enhanced these pictures.
“Sometimes the true essence of an image does not come out even if you take hundred shots. Therefore, a bit of enhancement had to be done to make the viewers feel the positive energy.”
Atul runs a travel company, which made him more close to photography.
He has been following his passion since the time reel cameras were used. To gain expertise in his work, he did a small course on photography.
“Understanding the technical side of photography is important these days,” he says, while explaining the picture he labelled as ‘enlightenment’.
“I have digitally enhanced the face of Buddha to establish the feeling of enlightenment. Likewise, in ‘Wisdom’ I have tried to present a combination of air, water and earth by using colours that represent these elements,” he says.
Focussing primarily on the face of Buddha in all his photographs, the photographer says, “Rarely, you see the smiling face of Lord Buddha. Therefore, whatever I have captured through my lenses I have to expand the contours of it by playing it with colours on Lord Buddha’s face.”