Elements and Fragments | Project 365 Tiruvannamalai 360° view Exhibition hosted by Magnet Galleries, Australia
A pause amid the rush
Digital Online Show of Project 365 Tiruvannamalai
We come across hundreds of thousands of images from across the globe every passing day. Our eyes may glue onto a few of them while the rest are unceremoniously forgotten. At the end of each year, we could be leaving behind billions of visuals, mostly in digital formats. What if we slow down and narrow down a bit, and try to see images from one particular place, taken through a long period of time? Project 365, a collaborative photographic experiment involving 25 photographers with varying backgrounds, centred around a temple town in Tamil Nadu, offers such a view. A brainchild of noted contemporary photographer Abul Kalam Azad, this photographic project captures various moods and shades of Tiruvannamalai town. Located on the foot of Annamalai hills, this historic place had captured the imagination of photography legends like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eliot Elisofon, GG Welling, PRS Mani Iyer and TN Krishnaswamy. These photographers, including Bresson, had portrayed a rather exotic picture of Tiruvannamalai and its famed Ramana Maharshi ashram. On the contrary, Project 365, as its name indicates, throws light on the mundane activities happening in this town throughout the 365 days of the year 2014 – 15. Besides serving as a work of art, this photography collection, comprising more than 3,000 images, acts as an archive of memories, time, and the place. The premiere show of Project 365 Tiruvannamalai was shown at the famous Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, in 2019. Now, a small selection from this whopping collection has now travelled across the continent and is being exhibited at the Magnet Galleries, Melbourne, Australia. Titled, Elements and Fragments, the show was opened to the public on 15th July 2021, however, due to the pandemic third wave lockdown measures, the gallery had to remain shut. In a remarkable effort, the Magnet Galleries have transformed the show into a fully digital 360° format. On World Photography Day, the digital show was unveiled to the public.
Showing Artists:
Abul Kalam Azad | Ami Gupta | Bhagyashri Patki | Biju Ibrahim | Boney KR | Dinesh Khanna | Iqbal MK | Leo James | Radhi Jangla | Ramu Aravindan | RR Srinivasan | Seema Krishnakumar | Shibu Arakkal | Jiby Charles | Venkatesan Perumal (Pee Vee )
By Joyel K Pious | Published on August 19, 2021
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