CHENNAI : At times when resistance is a necessity and discussion on injustices is a priority, Neelam Cultural Centre’s Vaanam Art Festival uses art as a tool to speak about subversion. Immersed in colours and stories of everyday lives of the working class and oppressed communities, Niththam Photography Exhibition under the festival at Art Kin Centre brings the stories filtered behind these colours into the limelight. “Everywhere in terms of culture and hegemony, art galleries are dominated by Savarna elites. It is a creamy layer and most of the time, we have no idea about how they are selected or if it is a democratic process. Through Vaanam Art Festival and all the other events under the umbrella, we are delivering art in the truest essence. Niththam translates to everyday life, this exhibition documents the struggles of working class people,” shares Ila Marudhu, curator of the exhibition.
Blue was a prominent theme in the photographs of Vandhana, a 26-year-old first generation learner from Meghwal community in Mumbai. Coming from the homestate of Dr BR Ambedkar, she captures frames of Babasaheb in the streets and some candid moments of Bahujans in Maharashtra. Meanwhile Harshini Ilavenil, a photographer and filmmaker, driven by Ambedkar’s vision for social justice and equality, captures the salt pan workers under the blue skies of Puthalam in Kanniyakumari. She focuses her camera on Vijayan and his family who are daily wage workers. In the scorching heat, equipped with tools like shovels and rakes, they meticulously pour baskets of white salt onto the large pile.
Kamaraj Sivanandan shifts the focus from Puthalam to Medhur. Sticking to the blue sky, but with more colour in the foreground, this documentary filmmaker and video producer captures the life in his village where he strives to change the stereotypical notions of Dalit life. “There is a perception that Dalits are landless everywhere and have to earn a living by doing daily wage labour. Most of the people in my village are land owners and farmers who take care of their own land. The streets of Medhur, paddy fields, the tree, and the Ayyanar temple are the shapes of stories that I want to tell. We have never seen a Brahmin priest in our Ayyanar temple till today and we proudly perform puja on our own,” writes the photographer.
Shifting themes
The blues seamlessly transitioned into verdant greens, unveiling the stories of tea estate workers. Jeyarani, who has been working as a journalist for the past 23 years, presents her photographs clicked in 2008, which was the tenth year anniversary of Manjolai labourers massacre. “A place that had about 12,000 people living, has only 2,000 now. Not a feet of land is allotted to the people who toiled for this tea estate. They have been sent away with a petty sum of money as compensation,” Jeyarani writes.
We see yet another series brimming with hues of green, capturing the tea estate workers navigating their everyday journey in the hills. Chennai-based journalist Nithya Pandian’s ‘Red Passport: A Journey Through the Lives of Tamil Dalit Tea Plantation Workers’ takes us deep into the heart of these communities. For the past seven years, she has travelled through the rugged terrains of Coonoor, Kotagiri, Munnar, Anamalai, and Manjolai, bearing witness to the realities faced by those whose hands cultivate the world-renowned teas we savour. Dr K Bakya, capturing her hometown, Velur, also brought in themes of green through her pictures.
The colourful hues gradually recede only to be drawn into the stark contrasts of black and white. Krithika Sriram, a Bengaluru-based visual artist explores the concepts of self identity and personal history through her frames. In her work ‘Home’, she photographs images of her mother, combing her hair and braiding it to put strands of flowers. She also lists out bits of nostalgia to give the viewers a peek into their lives. She writes, “On visitors’ Sunday my mother would come, bringing cooked beef, or a curry she had made out of chicken that she had bought and killed. When she came, she would look through my hair for lice, then plait out for me and put flowers in it before she left. This made me very happy.”
Then, the vibrant bursts of colours, celebrations of a community and frames of dances and excitement adorn the walls. Kabilan Soundharajan and Hariram capture the Irular community’s Maasi Magam festival celebrations. Kabilan writes, “Despite thousands gathering at the place every year, there is no proper sanitation of toilets implemented around the area. No police protection is provided for the festival either.” The photographs are testaments that show how the Aadivasi communities have resisted Brahmanism in all these years.
Capturing the moments of daily life, Sakthivarshini’s ‘Faces of Uzhavar Sandhai’, attempts to capture the farmer’s market on a busy day. Janani Kulanthaisamy in her series ‘One life’, captures her mother waiting for ice vandi. “Lately, waiting for the ice cream has become a part of my mother’s daily routine during her treatment. I feel a sense of fulfilment watching her,” she writes. Anita Sathima, as a cancer survivor dedicates her project to capturing photos of a cancer victim who lost her life leaving behind her nine-year-old daughter alone.
Violence against humanity
Far away from celebrations, Abishaa’s and Santhosh Krishnan’s photographs capture the struggles of the oppressed communities, also shedding light on the RA Puram eviction. From the north-east, independent lawyer and journalist Greeshma Kuthar’s photographs capture the ongoing violence in Manipur. She writes, “As the war is about to complete a year, people from all communities be it Kuki-Zo or Naga tribes, Meities and Pangals stand affected by this war in Manipur. Yet, nothing that happens in Manipur makes it to primetime mainstream news in India.”
Niththam also exhibited posters, bookmarks, and postcards for people to purchase as they can take something to their homes even after the festival. Commenting that it is important to keep conversations on resistance alive, Anahata Sundarmurthy, visual artist and founder of Art Kin Centre shares, “Exhibitions like these present works that break stereotypes. Discussions should be open every time. We should have a holistic view.”