They say art is sublime, a form of catharsis that tethers one to a string of emotions and self-reflection it comes with. Through its capacity to tell shared stories, it invokes empathy and empowers ideas. Perhaps this is what photographer Andy Malhan intended when he collaborated with poet Astri Ghosh on the exhibition Through Their Eyes.
This showcase—it is ongoing at the International India Centre—chronicles the life of dementia patients and their caregivers.
A syndrome rarely part of community discussions, dementia is essentially a group of symptoms that affects memory, thinking, and social abilities, enough to interfere with daily life functions. Giving a glimpse of some deeply personal moments, Andy makes his mother, Usha Malhan—a dementia patient—his muse.
The photographer shares that he was inhibited about baring himself open to the public eye, and was rather conflicted. However, he decided that this is a story he needed to tell. “Initially I thought it is my mother, things that happen at home… This is private. But it hit me, everyone who has this illness is going through it. It then becomes a shared story with millions. I realised there is a story to tell because many are still not aware that dementia exists,” Andy says.
Connecting with the muse
The exhibit offers a series of photographs of Usha in different phases, with each picture—or a set—accompanied by a poem written by Ghosh. The latter weaves a tale, breathing life into each image with a narrative that strikes a chord too deep. It is not just moments of empathy, but also a connection to something personal that makes one feel as if it could be their story.
Through Their Eyes starts with a 26-year-old, sharp-eyed, beautiful Usha, and moves to a recent version of her. Now with facial lines and wrinkles around her eyes, as she smiles, her gaze looks distant. From losing her sense of location to an idea of her surroundings, Andy shares that her brain started working differently, which made him ‘mom-proof’ the house.
“We needed to keep everything clean and uncluttered. She would often pick things up and ‘organise’ it. My camera would be put in the shoe cupboard, slippers in the fridge, tissue folded neatly and hidden under her pillow, while Rs500 notes would be crumpled up and thrown in the dustbin,” he shares as he points at photographs taken in their house.
Expressing a caretaker’s vulnerability
Andy deftly captures a few fulfilling moments Usha has with her daughter, who she would recognise from a mere touch, or elaborate stories about his mother on an adventure to meet Ravana. However, there are a few melancholic memories clicked in black and white—the pained mother-son duo embracing each other as well as Usha’s silhouette under the vast, dusky sky.
By the end of it, the exhibition becomes deeply pensive, with an image of Usha looking directly at the camera accompanied by poems from the children’s perspective conveying guilt, pain, vulnerability, and love for her. “It takes an army of help to care for an elderly dementia patient. It is a challenging and unpredictable journey. Despite the pain and vulnerability that we face daily, she is still my mother and she’s still beautiful,” the photographer notes.
Building a community
Discussions of dementia in communities are few and far few between, especially in India even though “more than four million patients have different forms of this condition [in India]”, Andy shares. “People who have this condition or even their caretakers don’t know who to connect with. There is no community to speak to. I hope this [exhibition] is a wake-up call for people to form organisations to share their struggles with one another. They must know that they are not alone,” he adds.
Apart from a deeper understanding of dementia, one walks out of this exhibition with a resonating impression made by the numerous photographs and poems and unsurprisingly, leaves many teary-eyed.
CHECK IT OUT
What : Through Their Eyes, an exhibition of photographs by Andy Malhan and poems by Astri Ghosh
When : Till Jan 24, 11:00am to 7:00pm
Where : Annexe Art Gallery, India International Centre, Max Mueller Marg