INDIA 50 50 UROBOROS-BASILISCO PHOTOGRAPHY PRODUCTION EDITING ALEJANDRO GÓMEZ DE TUDDO IRMA APONTE ACOSTA UROBOROS-BASILISCO
POSSIBLE OR IMPOSSIBLE? This book s epigraph, by Baba Ram Das, states: In India, everything is possible or impossible, and this paradox can be corroborated by anyone looking through its pages. Quite far from any stereotypes which one could always expect to find in a photography book about India, in this book we shall not see the Taj Mahal, the ghats of Varanasi, nor the filigree of Jaipur s Palace of the Winds. We have seen all these much too often, and perhaps this is what Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo felt as he set about to travel through India to take these photographs. Everything is impossible and possible in India. The first photo seems impossible. It would resemble a chorus in a Greek tragedy in one of Cocayannis films, or a stylized negative print of the stupas at Ladakh. Could the reader perhaps come to believe these figures are penguins? Possible are many other photographs whose scenarios are no different from what can be found in any popular quarter in Mexico City or in Honduras or Bolivia. It is the India which perhaps every traveler sees, without noticing it, since it has a rather discreet luster, and not the bright reds, greens and golds he or she would expect to find. Impossible, once again? At least unusual are the images of a dove which stands free, next to other birds confined within a steel spiral structure, in a Jain hospital for birds; the phantasmagorical superimposition of a Christ hanging from a broken glass; the planet Earth sinking; Superman, just around the corner. There are headless gods and makers of gods: the outstanding sculptors and artisans of Kumortuli, in Kolkata (Calcutta), where every year, in preparation of the festivities in honor of the Goddess, they create, with incredible perfection, the ephemeral divinities which will be displayed through the streets of the city during just a few days; but
what we can see here is the practically impossible angle of a sculptor reflected in a minute mirror in front of a mighty divine thigh, or another sculptor, who looks obliquely at the unlikely head of the god Kartikeya wearing a newspaper turban, and with a horrified look. Or is he to be, maybe, one of the demons which the Goddess will exterminate? There are signals which criss-cross from one photograph to another like subtle thematic threads which may lay out a clue for an interpretation of this quite unusual vision of India. Assemblies of birds on huge billboards; a Maya veil in a wedding scenario: a landscape full of bridges and woods, which covers a perhaps prosaic background; as well as a fisherman s net which filters the perspective of a boat surely many times bigger... Elsa Cross Universidad Autónoma de México IN SEARCH OF THE INEFFABLE The photographs of India 50/50 were taken from different angles and in various locations, but they seem similar because they describe today s world in its entire complexity. They nurture interpretations that are open to illusions, deliberately connecting reality and intuitive perception. Certainly, Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo deals with time structures in order to design an entanglement of a present time which has already become the past: time that evokes so many fleeting truths and genuine weaknesses. Though irreconcilable with themselves, these photographs are able to transmit common life occurrences full of boundless intimate and collective discoveries. Such a strong desire to evoke the present is valued greatly by Gómez de Tuddo, who therefore gives us limitless freedom for dreaming of what no longer is, proving that concerns related to linear time barely affect human memory. He then invites us to go In Search of Lost Time or the ineffable. Each image, with all its symbolism, appears isolated, thus fragmenting the general understanding that it symbolizes and expresses individually. Such a profusion of symbols that intertwine and baffle cannot but partially divulge the ineffable: the self. Mystery emanates from these pictures: that of the emotional life through temporal and dimensional spaces... Fewzia Bedjaui University of Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria
SNOW SPLASH, Island Grounds, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 13 04 21 N 80 16 48 E SHIRT, Asi Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 25 17 19 N 83 00 24 E CHARITY BIRDS HOSPITAL ROOF TOP METALLIC STRUCTURE, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh 28 39 20 N 77 14 96 E SHADOW, Tulsi Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 25 17 00 N 83 00 23 E CHINESE FISHING NET, Thopumpady Port, Kochi, Kerala 09 57 16 N 76 16 41 E SX4 BILLBOARD, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh 28 38 07 N 77 13 29 E BEHEADED STATUE, Bangalore-Mangalore Road, Karnataka 12 58 29 N 76 16 56 E WEDDING STAGE, Karwar, Karnataka 14 49 18 N 74 10 54 E MONSOON, Indore-Bhopal Road, Madhya Pradesh 23 03 00 N 76 46 10 E HANGING BIRD, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh 32 12 43 N 76 19 32 E CLOTHES-LINE, Narad Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 25 18 00 N 83 00 27 E JESUS CHRIST COLUMN, Commonwealth War Graves outskirts, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 13 06 57 N 80 10 59 E JUMBO CIRCUS, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 27 10 11 N 78 00 16 E METALLIC STRUCTURE, Calangute, Goa 15 33 06 N 73 45 16 E SHREE JAGAJYOTH BASAVESHWA STATUE S HEAD, Bhishma Lake, Gadag, Karnataka 15 25 14 N 75 37 42 E FURNITURE CEMETERY, Ghaziabad, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh 28 38 22 N 77 25 23 E SKY PARK BILLBOARD, Belgaum, Karnataka 15 50 56 N 74 30 31 E TARAPOREWALA AQUARIUM, Mumbai, Maharashtra 18 56 57 N 72 49 11 E RESIDENTIAL AREA, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 23 00 20 N 72 33 19 E SCIENCE CITY, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 23 04 48 N 72 29 46 E THEIR HOLINESS GYALWANG DRUKPA & STANGTSANG RASPA, Srinagar-Leh Road 34 15 07 N 77 06 13 E MOONRISE, Mumbai-Pune Road, Maharashtra 18 31 10 N 73 51 19 E TOWN FAIR, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 23 04 12 N 72 32 16 E DUCKS SHEPHERD, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu 11 55 19 N 79 48 48 E RUSH HOUR, Bangalore, Karnataka 12 57 56 N 77 30 44 E SUPERMAN, Vihara Marga, Mysore, Karnataka 12 18 08 N 76 40 41 E TEA PLANTATION, Idukki, Kerala 09 34 25 N 76 59 45 E VITTHALA TEMPLE ROAD, Hampi, Karnataka 12 57 15 N 77 33 24 E ROOM 12,Temple Hotel, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh 22 14 40 N 76 08 48 N NEELAM MOVIE THEATRE -by Le Corbusier-,Chandigarh, Haryana-Punjab 30 44 22 N 76 46 50 E PALACE OF ASSEMBLY -by Le Corbusier-, Chandigarh, Haryana-Punjab 30 44 16 N 76 47 04 E BRAHMIN S HOUSE, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu 11 24 97 N 79 41 35 E NAVARATRI S IDOLS WORKSHOP POTTER, Kumurtuli, Kolkota, West Bengal 22 33 00 N 88 21 10 E MAN WITH CLAY MASK, Bow Bazar, Kolkota, West Bengal 22 34 11 N 88 21 40 E DURGA PUJA PANDAL, Kolkota, West Bengal 22 34 55 N 88 22 20 E GURDIAL SINGH -Head Operator of Neelam Movie Theatre-, Chandigarh, Haryana-Punjab 30 44 22 N 76 46 50 E THE GROOM, Bangalore-Mysore Road, Karnataka 12 28 39 N 76 45 59 E CHOWPATTY BEACH, Mumbai, Maharashtra 18 57 15 N 72 48 45 E SADHU, Kangar, Maharashtra 19 25 48 N 74 33 46 E STUPAS, Leh, Ladakh-Jammu 34 10 15 N 77 33 00 E MAN ON ROOF TOP, Brahmapur, Odisha 19 18 58 N 84 48 42 E BUS STATION, Udaipur, Rajasthan 24 34 34 N 73 42 03 E MRS. CHANDRAKANTA, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan 26 17 47 N 73 01 55 E ARAVAN S BRIDES, Koovagam, Tamil Nadu 11 48 44 N 79 20 46 E ASSYLUM, Adpur-Palitana Road, Gujarat 21 31 09 N 71 48 37 E MADEMOISELLE O MURPHY S ROOM, Kochi, Kerala 09 57 47 N 76 14 22 E TRANSGENDER, Zoo Playground, Mysore, Karnataka 12 18 07 N 76 39 54 E THE BRAHMIN S SON, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu 11 24 97 N 79 41 35 E FRIENDS, Calangute Beach, Goa 15 33 07 N 73 45 10 E GANESH CHATURTHI, Narmada River, Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh 22 10 07 N 75 35 12 E CREMATION, Ulvar Karai Cemetery, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu 11 54 49 N 79 48 52 E 50/50 MURAL PAINTING, Shravanabelgola, Karnataka 12 51 26 N 76 29 14 E
INDIA 50 50 50 photographs in 50 days: one per day
SNOW SPLASH, Island Grounds, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
SHIRT, Asi Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
CHARITY BIRDS HOSPITAL ROOF TOP METALLIC STRUCTURE, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh
NAVARATRI S IDOLS WORKSHOP POTTER, Kumurtuli, Kolkota, West Bengal
MAN WITH CLAY MASK, Bow Bazar, Kolkota, West Bengal
DURGA PUJA PANDAL, Kolkota, West Bengal
THE TRANSIENCE OF ETERNITY Photography is the art of storytelling without words. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo does not just take a photo with his eyes; he takes it with his experiences, emotions and heart. The experience of India, the experience of being in India, and the experience of being in India as a photographer are so many moments he invites us to share. In journeying along Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo s photographs, we discover his journey to India and his way of looking at the world. This kaleidoscope of visual processes is such that when we look at each of his images, it is not the actual photo that we see, for the photograph itself is rendered invisible. We see something unclassifiable: it resists language, as it is without signs or marks we see something which simply is, illustrating that in India and in these photographs, everything is impossible or possible. Everything is impossible or possible, because each image formulates a new nonsemiotic discourse of photography an original framework in which photography steps beyond the shackles of classification. These photos are about India and not about India. These photos transcend the normal boundaries of the everyday by moving the activity of viewing from a transparent relationship of meaning and expression to a level in which meaning seems to be there without the presence of subjectivity. It is as if these photographs bring out the unconscious. They also represent the unconscious, while at the same time, denying all of these relations of meaning. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo allows for the sight of self, not as a mirror but as an access point into a definition of identity identity associated with consciousness, thus housing a whole; for it is thanks to the photgrapher that being coincides with self, to borrow from Camera Lucida. book, we are offered many journeys: journeys towards the photographer, towards photography and towards India. These 50 journeys are also voyages towards a revelation, inasmuch as the miracle of Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo s photographs, of their so-called objective images, to borrow from Baudrillard, is that they reveal a radically non-objective world. The artist generates a paradox insofar as the lack of objectivity of the world is disclosed by the photographic lens, l objectif, as the Charity Bird s Hospital Roof Top Metallic Structure photograph shows. In order to reach this non-objectivity, the photographer invites us to go along his journey. India. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo does not take us to India, he takes us beyond India, getting us to embark on a voyage away from Kerala, which stays behind the Chinese Fishing Net. His technique of photography takes us beyond the replica, almost into the domain of the trompe l oeil, as with Wedding Stage or Residential Area. Furthermore, through their unrealistic play of visual techniques, their slicing of reality, their immobility, their silence, and their phenomenological reduction of movements, many of the photos, such as Furniture Cemetery, affirm themselves as both the purest and the most artificial expositions of the image of India we watch, but cannot see. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo s technique becomes an opportunity for a double play and generates a discourse on the open relationship between the photographer s technique and the object/subject photographed: for instance, Their Holiness Gyalwang Drupka & Stangtsang Raspa amplifies the concept of illusion and the visual forms. A complicity between the technical device and the world is thus established, the power of object/subject and of objective techniques converges, and a new India is generated. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo s photographic act consists of entering this space of intimate complicity, not to master it, but to play along with it and to demonstrate that nothing has been decided yet, as Sky Park Billboard shows... Still Journeys There are 50 worlds to be seen. There are 50 photographs. 50, in symbolic numerology stands for the totality of mankind. 50 is the number which enables spiritual ascension through intuition. As such, 50 is the number of all enlightenments. Through the 50 photographs which Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo offers in this Jean Philippe Imbert Dublin City University Previous page: CREMATION, Ulavar Krai Cemetery, Pondicherrry, Tamil Nadu
50/50 MURAL PAINTING, Shravanabelgola, Karnataka Printing of INDIA 50/50 was finished during the month of October 2014 in Italy. Supervision and care of edition was carried out by UROBOROS-BASILISCO Art Press. Typography: Gill Sans. designed by Eric Gill. Book formation: Mónica Arguelles Zarebski. This edition includes 1000 copies (700 in spanish and 300 in english).