Lavinia Lascaris
18 Mar - 24 Apr 2010
LAVINIA LASCARIS
18.03.2010 – 24.04.2010
Time and Sequence, Lavinia Lascaris’ first solo exhibition at the Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center opens on Thursday 18th March 2010, at 19:30.
The exhibition will run until 24th April 2010.
“Well, India is a country of nonsense”
Mahatma Gandhi.
Starting this trip on 14th January 2009, with my camera serving as the extension of my hands, all I knew was that I would document every aspect of this adventure, immortalize it, and bring it back home, whenever that would be.
To capture the essence of this vast country one needs to understand that simplicity does not satisfy Indian lifestyle and aesthetics. One god is not enough just as a plain white sari does not quite cover it. Everything is defined by its extremes. My senses were fiercely attacked by the multitude of new experiences as was my perception of personal space, since this concept does not exist in a country of more than 1 billion people. Adapting to everyday life consisted of many things ranging from new eating habits to accepting a very frank and spontaneous behavior.
The aim of this photography installation is dual. Firstly, it aspires to portray the timeline of my travels across India, conveying at the same time the explosion of emotions that I experienced throughout those four months. The journey starts with my initial encounter of Indian life in Auroville, which is designed to be one of the biggest international communities in the world; then comes a month in the Andaman Islands, (Port Blair, Little Andaman, and Havelock); Kumarakum and Cochin in Kerala; a brief visit to Bandhavgarh Park in Madhya Pradesh, and finally a tour around western and central south India – Puna, Goa, Dandeli, and Hampi. I hoped that each place would be differentiated in terms of dominant colors and general atmosphere, in photographs taken on the mainland or on an island, in the north or the south, high up on a mountain or down by the sea.
Secondly, it aims to try and recreate this experience inside the walls of a gallery through the display of 912 photographs, hoping to offer the viewer a glimpse of the intensity of this country: sights of countless colors blending together, smells of incense and burning garbage, tastes of excess chilli and curry, sounds of religious or popular Indian music, and the sensation of the humidity and heat. Still, within the vastness, certain elements stand out and I intended to give myself as well as viewers the chance to study individual aspects within the brilliant chaos of the whole. Finally, I knew what Gandhi meant.
Lavinia Lascaris
18.03.2010 – 24.04.2010
Time and Sequence, Lavinia Lascaris’ first solo exhibition at the Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center opens on Thursday 18th March 2010, at 19:30.
The exhibition will run until 24th April 2010.
“Well, India is a country of nonsense”
Mahatma Gandhi.
Starting this trip on 14th January 2009, with my camera serving as the extension of my hands, all I knew was that I would document every aspect of this adventure, immortalize it, and bring it back home, whenever that would be.
To capture the essence of this vast country one needs to understand that simplicity does not satisfy Indian lifestyle and aesthetics. One god is not enough just as a plain white sari does not quite cover it. Everything is defined by its extremes. My senses were fiercely attacked by the multitude of new experiences as was my perception of personal space, since this concept does not exist in a country of more than 1 billion people. Adapting to everyday life consisted of many things ranging from new eating habits to accepting a very frank and spontaneous behavior.
The aim of this photography installation is dual. Firstly, it aspires to portray the timeline of my travels across India, conveying at the same time the explosion of emotions that I experienced throughout those four months. The journey starts with my initial encounter of Indian life in Auroville, which is designed to be one of the biggest international communities in the world; then comes a month in the Andaman Islands, (Port Blair, Little Andaman, and Havelock); Kumarakum and Cochin in Kerala; a brief visit to Bandhavgarh Park in Madhya Pradesh, and finally a tour around western and central south India – Puna, Goa, Dandeli, and Hampi. I hoped that each place would be differentiated in terms of dominant colors and general atmosphere, in photographs taken on the mainland or on an island, in the north or the south, high up on a mountain or down by the sea.
Secondly, it aims to try and recreate this experience inside the walls of a gallery through the display of 912 photographs, hoping to offer the viewer a glimpse of the intensity of this country: sights of countless colors blending together, smells of incense and burning garbage, tastes of excess chilli and curry, sounds of religious or popular Indian music, and the sensation of the humidity and heat. Still, within the vastness, certain elements stand out and I intended to give myself as well as viewers the chance to study individual aspects within the brilliant chaos of the whole. Finally, I knew what Gandhi meant.
Lavinia Lascaris