Photo Essay: Finding neverland
An exhibition of haunting aerial shots offers a glimpse of Mumbai's topographical beauty
Robert D. Stephens’ aerial photographs show Mumbai almost as a geographical blueprint, its emblematic structures and neighbourhoods—the sea link, Antilla, Tardeo—dwarfed and misty from a distance.
The black and white photographs that make up the Mumbai Articles: Contemporary Aerial Photographs exhibition, now on at the Artisans’ gallery in Mumbai, have a dreamlike quality, the city without any sign of din or jostle, so fundamental to its everyday identity. Sea, land and concrete intermingle for canvases that seem more close to a cinematic Neverland, haunting and inviting at the same time. Stephens explains: “The physical linear form of the city is a combination of natural processes, and man’s reclamative processes and the peripheral seas—which a document from the British Raj era refers to as a ‘moat’; and the fluid line where land and sea meet. These unique geographic features are primary components in creating a visual identity of the city. Rather than focusing on buildings or landmarks, the images attempt to focus on a context of place. Man’s relationship with the land, in the form of the built environment, is captured consequentially, not intentionally."
The works are printed on thick, off-white cotton etching paper. When black pigments of ink interact with this paper, it creates a soft visual texture. Stephens, who is originally from South Carolina, US, and works at the Mumbai-based RMA Architects, says: “The result is an image that appears to be archival in nature, but the content of the image reveals that it is a contemporary image. Black and white images in rich print format made possible the identification of a genre I categorize as ‘contemporary archival’."
He says he captured these shots with a small camera in hand, and wings by his side, and decided to avoid retakes of the same shot, inspired by “first take only" YouTube videos. Over five years (2009-14), Stephens developed a body of work from which the 25 works on display at this exhibition have been chosen. He first came to Mumbai in 2006, returned in 2007 and has been there since. “Year after year I observed the changing cityscape, which has become more and more visually similar to what one would see in New York City, Tokyo, or London. One could not help but mourn the ebbing loss of context, a specific and local feeling of place," he says.
These photographs are a reminder that it is important to step back and view the macro picture of our city. There’s the hope that the filth that threatens to surge every day will one day be cleansed, and the intrinsic beauty of the city will remain. As Stephens says, “Seeing Mumbai from an aerial perspective helps give a glimpse of this restorative beauty—a reminder that our cities are beautiful, even in spite of their flaws, and certainly not because of them."
Mumbai Articles: Contemporary Aerial Photographs is on till 19 November, 11am-7pm (Sunday closed), at Artisans’, 52-56, Dr VB Gandhi Marg, Rhythm House lane, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. Signed, dated limited editions of the photographs are available (mounted and framed, as well as mounted and unframed), for prices ranging from ₹ 4,500-20,000.
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