Since 2012, the Camera Clara Prize, reserved to artists who work with large format cameras, rewards each year the work of an unpublished author.
“A Myth of Two Souls” is a project consisting of 7 books, based on the myth of Ramayana. Attributed to the poet Valmiki, the Ramayana was composed in Sanskrit in the fourth century. It tells the story of Rama and Sita, prince and princess of Ayodhya, sentenced to live in exile for 14 years after a political intrigue. During their exile, Sita is abducted by Ravana, the king of Sri Lanka. The two kingdoms will face each other in a deadly war. Under cover of an adventure story – a love story, an abduction, a war – the Ramayana is above all a philosophical tale. It is the story that conveys the moral and social codes observed by South Asia societies, from popular culture to politics to the everyday behavior of individuals.
Tracing the more than 5000-kilometer route taken by the epic heroes from the north to the south of India, Vasantha Yogananthan offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the Ramayana reflecting the imagination of the myth and its importance in everyday life.
In theatrical portraits, the inhabitants of the places mentioned in the Ramayana interpret passages that have marked their imagination. Produced in the large 4 × 5 camera in black and white, these prints are then colorized by hand by an Indian painter, who received carte blanche, paints following his imagination and his own sensitivity – his vision is superimposed on that of the photographer.
A Myth of Two Souls has the distinction of being a project of 7 books. Composed of 7 songs, the Ramayana tells the cycle of life, from the birth of the two heroes to their death. Vasantha Yogananthan publishes a book by song. The books were published by the publisher Chose Commune, which he founded in 2014 with Cécile Poimboeuf-Koizumi. The project also has a dedicated website (www.a-myth-of-two-souls.com) where each chapter is published when the book is released, in a specific digital format. The site is bilingual (French and English) and aims to make the work accessible to a wide audience.
The project is still in progress.
Opening on Thursday 17 January 2019 at 18:30
In the presence of the laureate and the jury of the Camera Clara Prize
Vasantha Yogananthan, A Myth of Two Souls
Folia Gallery
January 18 – March 02, 2019
13 Rue de l’Abbaye
75006 Paris
https://www.galerie-folia.fr/
