10 August,2011 09:08 AM IST | | Amrita Bose
Looking at Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide's stunning images might make you want to believe in legendary French lensman Henri Cartier Bresson's famous words about photography being all about 'that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy'
According to Google, the number six plays a big role in the lives of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and photographer Graciela Iturbide, also a fellow Mexican. While Frida was crippled with polio at the age of six, Graciela lost her six-year-old daughter to illness.
A shirt blowing in the breeze at Kajuraho, 1998
And the effect of these life changing moments was to turn to their favourite forms of expression ufffdpainting and photography. While the works of Frida have been celebrated enough, it's time to welcome Graciela's stunning images to a brand new photography show in town. This month-long show titled The Eye of Graciela Iturbide will see some of her images capturing life and women from Mexico, Jaipur, Pushkar, Mumbai, Benaras, Calcutta, Bombay and Lucknow among others, a result of a trip made by Graciela in the 90s to India.
From the series titled Carnaval, Tlaxcala, Mexico, 1974
After admiring her work for close to 13 years, founder and curator of shows at Tasveer, Abhishek Poddar found the perfect opportunity to bring Graciela's works to the city when he happened to hear of a show organised by the Mexican Embassy last year in Delhi where Graciela and photographer Raghu Rai presented their respective takes on each other's countries based on the theme of Octavio Paz's poetry. The Eye of Graciela Iturbide is part of the 2010 show.
Woman shot in Pushkar, 1999u00a0Photo Credit ufffd Graciela Iturbide / Tasveer
"Graciela's photography is iconic, to say the least. And since she has spent a considerable time in India shooting subjects, this show is a must-see for just about anybody," says Abhishek. Though the landscape of India and Mexico might be topographically different, the everyday subjects, the strong, honest faces of women and village life are universal themes that run through these 66 black and white prints, which will be part of this show.
Born in Mexico in 1942, Graciela was the eldest of her twelve siblings. Married to architect Manuel Rocha D ufffdaz, this mother-of-three lost one of her daughters to an illness in 1970. This was the moment when the grieving Graciela turned to photography. She was mentored by cinematographer and photographer Manuel lvarez Bravo. Photographing Mexico's indigenous people, Zapotec (an indigenous civilization of Mexico) women and their culture and customs, Graciela is also known to explore themes like feminism and sexuality.
A case in point is her collection titled Se ufffdora de Las Iguanau00a0 aka Our Lady of the Iguanas that was shot in Juchit n, Oaxaca, a city where women dominate social heirarchies and Magnolia, a shot where a man admires himself in a mirror wearing a dress. Magnolia made many experts claim that the 69-year-old Graciela was interested in exploring the sexuality of her fellow Mexicans through her photography.u00a0u00a0
"Graciela's work is deeply personal. There is something about her photographs that transcends countries and languages. It is not a documentation or a sociological comment. The thin line between what is and isn't art just dissolves," says Abhishek. He assures us that each and every shot from the collection has the power to make you get completely lost in it. "You will be completely absorbed into every frame without having to hurry on to the next one. You don't really need to read the caption or make sense of the context," he says.u00a0
Where Tasveer, The Gallery at SUA House, 26/1 Kasturba Cross Road
On from August 11, 10 am to 7 pm Tuesday to Saturday
Call 9986284251
