Amma

@ Yogananthan, Vasantha

979-1096383221

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.In stock.

Présentation de Chose Commune :

A Myth of Two Souls (2013-2021) is inspired by the epic tale The Ramayana. Drawing inspiration from the imagery associated with this myth and its pervasiveness in everyday Indian life, Vasantha Yogananthan has retraced the legendary route from Nepal to India to Sri Lanka. First recorded by the Sanskrit poet Valmiki around 300 BC, The Ramayana has been continuously rewritten and reinterpreted, and continues to evolve today. Yogananthan's series is informed by the notion of a journey in time and space and offers a modern retelling of the tale.

The seventh and last chapter, Amma (‘Mother’ in Tamil language) closes the project A Myth of Two Souls, after 437 pictures published over seven books (2016-2021). To celebrate this epic saga, Chose Commune releases a very special book in close collaboration with the artist — a book with 60 photographs tipped-in by hand (printed and bound in Italy).

Amma is centered around the princess Sita and deals with the concept of ‘purity’. By no means a happy ending, the closure of The Ramayana forces us to question Rama's behaviour and his obedience to rules set by a patriarchal society. On the other hand, Sita's beliefs and actions are free from culture. Sita means furrow in sanskrit, she is the daughter of the Earth.

The pictures composing Amma take us from the seacoast of Sri Lanka, to the city of Ayodhya to the jungle of Bihar, India. Their chromatic scale recreate a world where civilization gradually disappears to leave room to a purely metaphysical space. The Ramayana has neither end nor beginning. It represents the circle of life and therefore it will always be. "

168 pages - Softcover with flaps

Chose Commune, 2021

Format : 24.5 x 30 cm

New - Mint condition

This book is no longer in stock

$97.26

Yogananthan, Vasantha

Vasantha Yogananthan is a French photographer and publisher. He co-founded the publishing House Chose Commune in 2014. The artist's  website states: « Yogananthan's strong interest in painting led him to work around the genres of portrait, still life and landscape. Using these traditions as a starting point, he refined his photographic approach to produce photographs that expand the traditional genres and are united by a distinctively muted colour palette, achieved solely using natural light. » Vasantha has received numerous awards for his images (among them Prix Levallois 2016 and ICP Infinity Award for Emerging Photographer of the Year 2017) and the books published by Chose Commune ("Sobras" by Geraldo de Barros, Prix Nadar Gens d'Images 2017, French photobook of the year). He has published his own work with Chose Commune: "Piémanson" in 2014, and the project "A Myth of Two Souls", a photographic narration of the Ramayana epic, over a series of seven photobooks (in progress) : "Early Times" (2016), "The Promise" (2017), "Exile" (2017), "Dandaka" (2018), "Howling Winds" (2019) and "Afterlife" (2020). The final book in the series titled "Amma" is published in 2021. © Portrait taken from the website Photographic Museum of Humanity
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