How do you capture a state in five days? That was the task given to 10 photographers invited to document Kerala for Lenscape Kerala, a travelling photography exhibition presented by Kerala Tourism. Each photographer was asked to travel through one part of the state for five days and return with images that reflected what they saw. “They were able to deliver amazing photographs,” remarks photographer Balan Madhavan, who directed the project.
Each photographer submitted around twenty images, from which curator Uma Nair selected the final set which is now displayed at the Lalit Kala Akademi on Greams Road. The photographs are printed on canvas so they can travel across cities.
The exhibition, Uma explains, is less about postcard images and more about stories. “I believe the beauty of a photograph lies in the life it creates in the mind of the viewer. A photograph stays with us when it carries a powerful story. In that sense, this exhibition has become a collection of stories within stories,” she says.
Beauty across canvases
Across the gallery, stories unfold through landscapes, rituals, wildlife, and everyday scenes from Kerala.
One photograph captures time layered within a single frame. Photographer Kounteya Sinha shows a Theyyam performer standing beside a young schoolboy. “The photograph shows the child in a mundu beside the Theyyam dancers. It is exquisite because it speaks of the past and present,” says Uma. “Through that image, Kounteya subtly reminds us that India’s oldest garment is the mundu or dhoti. Wherever you go in the country, you will find the white dhoti.”
Kounteya’s photographs move away from the bright colours usually associated with folk traditions. Instead, he takes a monochromatic approach, drawing attention to the gestures and forms within rituals such as Mayura Nrityam, Thirayattam, Kalaripayattu, Mohiniyattam, Oppana, and Devakoothu, alongside scenes from everyday life in Kerala.
Other photographs turn toward Kerala’s architecture and built heritage. Amit Pasricha has photographed the interior woodwork of a 1,000-year-old mosque in Kottakkal. “When you look at the image, it has a curious alchemy,” Uma says. The exhibition therefore, turns into quieter studies of heritage too. “Imagine a 1,000-year-old church belonging to the Church of South India, built with old rocks brought from the sea,” Uma says, adding, “Manoj Arora, another photographer, has captured many such elements of Kerala’s heritage, and they are beautiful to look at.”
Wildlife photography forms another strand of the exhibition. Shivang Mehta’s black-and-white photographs focus closely on animals and their surroundings. “He has photographed a fish owl at night, with extraordinary eyes,” Uma notes. “He has also captured a woodpecker, a mother monkey with her baby, and a close study of an elephant’s trunk. That image of the trunk alone is a masterpiece.”
The exhibition also includes work by wildlife photographer Aishwarya Sridhar, the only participant with roots in Kerala. “She has spent much of her life outside the state and is a wildlife photographer who has won the BBC Wildlife Photography award. She is the only Indian to have won that recognition,” Uma informs.
For Aishwarya, the assignment itself came with unusual constraints. Within those few days, she set out to document both the landscape and biodiversity of the state. “I had to ensure that I got the best possible shots of the landscape as well as of the biodiversity that Kerala is so rich in,” Aishwarya says. The effort, she adds, depended as much on the circumstances as on planning. “Thankfully the weather and the animals cooperated because I was able to get some stunning photographs of the Nilgiri tahr at Eravikulam. We also saw some elephants, and we captured wild dogs.”
Actor Seema, and writer, critic, and former editorial advisor to Better Photography, Sadanand Menon inaugurated the exhibition on Wednesday. “Most of the photographs belong to what photography calls pictorialism, which creates romantic images of a place. But there are also attempts to move beyond that. Natasha Kartar Hemrajani’s work, for instance, creates multiple layers through shadows and superimposition, while Shivang Mehta’s black and white photographs move very close to subjects like ants, spiders, and elephants, offering a different way of seeing. Any work connected to tourism will naturally have tourist-oriented images, but it seems Kerala Tourism has evolved and is open to photographs that stand on their own. Photography exhibitions should present works that are honest and it is good to see that,” shares Sadanand.
At a time when films like Kerala Story 2 attempt to define Kerala through narrow frames, the exhibition invites viewers to look again. “When you look at the details captured in these photographs you will find harmony more than conflict,” says Balan. “This exhibition will give a message to the world that this is the real Kerala. It is not about just one movie creating fear in the minds of people. We know that that is not Kerala.”
For Uma Nair, the photographs also carry a reminder of responsibility. “When we look at Kerala through these photographs, we see its beauty,” she says. “At the same time, we must ask ourselves whether we are doing enough to protect both the land and the people who live there. We cannot say our land is beautiful if we do not look after it.” Across 120 frames, the exhibition attempts to hold that complexity.
The 10-city travelling exhibition began on January 20 in New Delhi and will culminate in Kolkata on March 29. It will be showcased in Chennai till March 7, between 11 am and 7 pm. Entry is free.