A peek into the magic of patterns

A photography exhibition in Bengaluru focuses on the intricate geometry inherent in nature.

‘I Can Sparkle’. (Pic courtesy: Anil Annaiah Collection)

Bengaluru's pink blossoms went viral this year. Indeed, what better way to celebrate Earth Day than to revel in the miracle that is each flower! Against this backdrop, Bengaluru-based filmmaker, writer, photographer and storyteller Anil Annaiah's photography exhibition makes perfect sense. The exhibition, 'Reimagining Nature: Poetics of Viewing' features fine art photographs and short films.

Anil's passion for the environment has taken various forms through the years — artistic explorations through the lens, citizen initiatives, workshops, and programmes built around every Earth Day for the past 10 years. In fact, since 2014, every Earth Day, Anil has presented his collection of nature photographs and films in a public exhibition. This year’s three-day exhibition at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath is a compilation of some of his best works from over the years, with a focus on encouraging the viewer to appreciate and rediscover nature, through either their own initiatives or through participatory initiatives.

While Anil happened to discover his love for nature through the lens, this has motivated him to deploy it as a tool for advocating change and to devise ways to involve the community as well. His first exhibition of fine art photographs was in 2000, where he displayed a collection of conceptual images from 1988 to 2000, along with a video installation. The short film that was part of the video installation showed a colourless and transparent liquid transforming into an opaque red one, almost the colour of blood, as it filled up the glass vessel, a powerful metaphor for life. Garnering appreciation for his works, he pursued fine art photography and filmmaking that reimagines ways of viewing the natural world, appreciating its complexities, and rediscovering mathematical patterns inherent in nature.

This year’s collection features multiple series drawn from previous years along with a few new ones — early photographic works that are based on macro-photography and show magnified views of flora and foliage, offering deeper insights into the aesthetics and science of natural elements. Another series of works depicts blurred or defocused images which can easily be mistaken for abstract paintings. Interestingly, all photographs are untouched by imaging tools, and any sense of motion that is incorporated is done at the photographing stage itself. The third series captures nature as if it is in motion — gentle movements that explore its lyrical flow. The titles of each of these photographs are equally poetic, and even whimsical at times; for instance, The Pink River and I Can Sparkle!

The short films capture moving images with textual overlay as ‘thought quotes’ broadly referring to ‘Invest in our Planet’, the official theme for this Earth Day, and work as a call for action as well. The video installation offers a zone to consciously step away from the urban chaos and pause — to reflect in solitude.

Disclosure: 'Reimagining Nature: Poetics Of Viewing' has been curated by this author.

The author is a Bengaluru-based art consultant, curator and writer. She blogs at Art Scene India and can be reached at [e-mail]

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