SAVE THE DATE! IFA@Bangalore: Eyes of the Present: Presentations on photography by Soumya Sankar Bose and Abul Kalam Azad | February 19, 2018 | The Park

We are delighted to invite you to Eyes of the Present, an evening of presentations on photographic works about territory, identity, and performance by Soumya Sankar Bose and Abul Kalam Azad, on Monday, February 19, 2018 at 07:30 PM at The Park, No 14/7, M G Road, Bangalore.

In keeping with the spirit of the evening, please come attired in black and white!

Soumya Sankar Bose captured the contemporary journey of the 16th century theatre form of united Bengal—Jatra and its actors, through black and white photography. These artists who were once towering figures of the form are now unemployed. Soumya attempted to portray the impact on Jatra, of the Partition of Bengal on the fissures in storytelling and characters; the uses of Hindu mythology; and the advent of cinema and television in the 1960s and 1970s.

Soumya attended Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Dhaka, and has exhibited his work at group shows in Kolkata and Dhaka. His work has been featured in Better Photography, Kindle, Mint Lounge, The Caravan, Wired, and A'int-Bad;Gallery Carte Blanche, F-Stop, Galli, Scroll.in, The Huffington Post, BBC Online and Medium. He received the Toto Funds the Arts (TFA)-Tasveer Emerging Photographer of the Year Award, 2015.

Abul Kalam Azad created photographic works in black and white, drawing on descriptions of the landscape and inhabitants of Poompuhar or Pukar in Tamil Nadu, from the ancient Tamil epic Silappadikaram ("Story of the Anklet") by the prince-turned-poet Illango Adigal. The project explores questions around identity and territory, and provides a contemporary visual interpretation of the Sangam-era epic.

Abul was brought up in Mattancherry, Kerala, and has worked with prominent news agencies and periodicals in India and abroad. During his tenure with the Press Trust of India in New Delhi, he became deeply involved with SAHMAT, after which, he shifted from journalism to explore photography as a medium of self-expression. In 2010, he founded the Ekalokam Trust for Photography in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, dedicated to promoting contemporary photography in India.

These projects received grants from India Foundation for the Arts, under the Arts Practice programme.

Please note that while entry to the event is free, we request you to RSVP by writing to menaka@indiaifa.org