“The human body yearns for freedom. Where there is no freedom, there is conflict and pain. I have tried to portray that through my photographs,” says Shaju Subramanian, a veteran photographer whose series of snaps ‘Fear and Freedom’ and ‘Cogwheels’ are exhibited at Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan.
The two series, although connected by the same theme of imprisoned body and soul, are visually miles apart. ‘Fear and freedom’, a series Shaju began working in 2004, is an abstract portrayal of the theme, shot in colour negative film. “I wanted it to be raw and intense. I haven’t tried any gimmicks. The colour and light are exactly how I got it in the film when I shot them,” he says. The highlight of the series is a set of photographs showcasing a struggling naked male body in harsh golden light, symbolising the fight for freedom.
Real deal
While ‘Fear and Freedom’ focuses on rawness and conceptual portrayal of the idea, ‘Cogwheels’ presents the real world in a documentary nature. Shaju’s lens are trained on migrant labourers that he met during his journeys to different parts of India. “These are people who have left their homes and are working like slaves to make whatever little money they can. They hardly get time to live. It’s all work,” he explains. ‘Cogwheels’ refers to these people who have become part of the machinery and will probably remain that way until they are too old to work, when they get replaced by their employers, just like a rusted, spare part of a machine.
Shaju used a DSLR to capture this series. It starts with snaps that documents the lives of Andhra fishermen working in Odisha. Another set of photos depict rusted old machinery in a factory followed by stills of labourers loading and unloading scrap metal. Shaju adds, “The photographs are of that moment when they just notice me taking their pictures. You get to see that momentary connect between me and them.”
This is only the third exhibition Shaju has conducted in his long career in illustrative and fine arts photography. Hailing from Parappanangadi, Shaju grew up in Kochi and started his career in fine-arts photography there in early 90s. He has since worked with several publications and has also worked on various individual projects. Next, he will be working on a series of portraits.
The exhibition is on till August 9 at Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Hall, Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan.