BENGALURU: The diversity of cultures and religions, the colonial domination, the international cultural relationships as well as the extreme social contrasts. All these will be explored at the exhibition-cum-workshop titled ‘India Tecton’ by German photographer Nicolaus Schmidt to be held at the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) on May 13. This is being held in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore.
India Tecton is also a book written by Schmidt and is his second work on India. Schmidt says, “The title Tecton derives from the Greek word ‘architektonía’. This project is about all the patterns and structures of Indian architecture. They reflect the diversity of cultures and religions in India over a period of about 2,000 years. I took the first pictures shown in this book in 2011 on my third day in India when I visited Karla Caves in Maharashtra on my way to Pune. The photos of the Stupa and the 1,700 years old teak beams under the ceiling are just magic.”
The book was published and the works were also exhibited at the India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi in November last year.
“I took the photographs on four longer travels through many parts of India. With the trip in 2020, focused on modern architecture, I could complete this project. I was very lucky to meet the great architect Balkrishna Doshi at his home in Ahmedabad,” he says.
However, his first book India Women was published in 2015 and his exhibition titled ‘Diversity and Strength – Photographs of Women in India’ was held at the IIC in New Delhi. “ This project was taken during my first visit to India in 2011. The result of the travel was the idea to make a photo project about women in India. In spite of all the progress – women as CEOs, women in science and media – the situation of women in the countryside and the poorer parts of the cities still seems to be very difficult,” shares Schmidt, the photographer-cum-author.