Lenscape Kerala captures the state in 100 striking photographs

A Kalaripayattu artist leaps into the air, legs splitting the air over a fellow artist who bends backwards to avoid a clash—their muscles and movement made more striking in greyscale. A couple kayaks through the Paravoor backwater, striking yellow oars offsetting the emerald of the mangrove forests that fringe the waters. A Niligiri Tahr, an endangered species, stands on a rock surveying its landscape beneath a bright blue sky. Scenes like these—landscapes, architecture, people and animals—come to life at Lenscape Kerala, an ongoing exhibition hosted by the Kerala Tourism Department.

The travelling exhibition opens today in Mumbai’s Jahangir Art Gallery for a three-day showcased, as part of a multi-city tour. It has also been displayed at New Delhi’s India Habitat Centre followed by the Alembic Art District in Vadodara and at the Hutheesing Visual Arts Centre in Ahmedabad since the beginning of this year, with more Indian cities lined up till the end of March.

Curated by Uma Nair, with Balan Madhavan serving as Director of Photography, the exhibition features an assortment of 100 photographs created by 10 photographers from across India. “The photographers who contributed to Lenscape Kerala had travelled through different landscapes of Kerala for five days, covering a range of themes such as nature, wildlife, heritage, rural and coastal life, architecture, festivals and spirituality,” Kerala Tourism Minister Shri P A Mohamed Riyas said in a press statement marking its launch in Ahmedabad earlier this month.

The showcase is varied. Aishwarya Sridhar’s topography-first images make protagonists of mountain goats and elephants; Saibal Das finds his muse in people—young girls poring over their phones, men sipping tea and Theyyam performers getting dressed. Photographers such as Kounteya Sinha and Shivang Mehta turn their lens on Kerala in black and white. Umesh Gogna, Saurabh Chatterjee, Manoj Arora, Amit Pasricha and H Satish are also on display, with inviting images of lush backwaters, fishing communities, people at work, architecture and more. Natasha Kartar Hemrajani stands out in particular, for her distinct visual grammar—layering images and other experimental practices to create dreamlike scenes.

(Lenscape Kerala will be on view in Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai till February 11. It will be on view in Pune’s Art2day Gallery between February 18 and 20; at Sabha Art Gallery, Bengaluru from Feb 27 to Mar1; in Chennai, at the Lalit Kala Akademi, between March 4 and7); at Telangana State Art Gallery in Hyderabad from March 12 to 14; in Kolkata’s Victorial Memorial Hall between March 22 and 24; and conclude in Surat, with a showcase from March 29 to 31 at Vanita Vishram Art Gallery.)