Karthik S

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA will develop a photo-film by weaving the archival materials from the Photo Archive, STARS Archive and Herbarium, the three collections available at the Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP). The film will narrativise a fictional account of an elusive Tamil woman who has successfully through the ages escaped the attempts of being photographed by various photographers. The project is a collaboration with the IFP, a Franco-Indian research institution set up in 1955. By facilitating and undertaking research across the various disciplines of the natural and human sciences, IFP’s archival collections have grown to include a variety of materials like photographs, manuscripts, maps, herbarium specimens and pollen grains that have played an indispensable role in guiding and enriching research. Karthik S is the Project Coordinator for this project.

Karthik S is based out of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and has a Master’s degree in Photojournalism from the University of Westminster, London. His interest lies in traversing the world of history and fiction through still and moving images. His earlier work titled Mohona, made on the Sundarbans, explores the interaction between humans and wildlife, at the deltaic estuaries of the river Ganga and the Bay of Bengal. His ongoing work, titled Idai Veli, an outcome of his seventy-two days of long walk along the river Kaveri, attempts to extend the form of still photography by adding a narrative voiceover to create newer experiences for the medium. Given his experiences, Karthik is best suited to be the Project Coordinator for this Foundation Project of IFA.

By drawing from the three archival collections, the project chooses to tell the story from the location of a photographer who chances upon a box of photographs and other archival notes at the IFP archives and attempts to stitch together the story of a Tamil woman who remains invisible in photographs. The Project Coordinator has systematically planned the ways in which he is going to use the materials from the three collections. The STARS Archive and the IFP Photo Archive will lend itself to creating the primary visuals that span the entire life of the woman. The stories of the different photographers will emerge after researching the existing metadata and other resources available at IFP. The Herbarium collection will be used in conjunction with Sangam poems to connect with the contentious relationship of humans with non-human components of the ecosystem. This project hopes to offer new readings at the intersections of photography, ecological fragility, and women. 

The project has been divided into the following parts: studying the archive and selection of possible images; write the script alongside inspired by the images and a separate literary research; studying the various references from Sangam literature; weaving the images and the script; production and design of the soundscapes; design of the exhibition and audio booth; translate the content for the audio booth; organise an interactive session with children around the Herbarium Archive and Sangam poems.

The outcomes of the project will be the photo-film, an exhibition of images from the Herbarium consisting of 10 to 12 original or reproduction images from the Herbarium with an audio booth that play recordings of Sangam poems pertaining to the chosen flowers; and social media postings of these images and audio as a series of audio-visuals.

As part of public engagements Karthik will arrange for screening of the film for different kind of audiences in various locations. He will also show it to school children, to introduce them to the experimental explorations of archive and photography creating a curiosity for both practices. He also hopes to co-create an interactive event with IFP to encourage children to engage with the Herbarium and Sangam poetry.

The Project Coordinator’s deliverables along with the final reports will be high resolution digital copy of the film, finished high resolution audio pieces, social media posts along with a selection of images from the Herbarium, and photographs from the public engagements. 

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees. 

This Foundation Project is implemented by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), under the Archives and Museums programme, in collaboration with Institut Français de Pondichéry​ (IFP). It is made possible with support from Tata Trusts, with the corpus interest of an earlier seed grant.