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A diplomat and his passion for art

Staff Reporter

Christopher Wurst's strongpoint with the camera is his deft work with contrasts

A DIPLOMAT'S ART: N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, Christopher M. Wurst and Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, Prince of Arcot, at``That Other Reality'' exhibition, on Saturday. — Photo : R. Shivaji Rao

CHENNAI: : For American diplomat Christopher Wurst, his camera is his constant companion.

In his photographs, you see a riot of textures at play — shredded paper, glimpses of a filthy wall giving the composition splashes of colour.

Currently with the US Consulate in Chennai, Mr. Wurst has been indulging in his passion for capturing the world the way he sees it.

A high view of a busker in Paris, a man in Antigua pulling a cart across a white street wall with an exaggerated shadow of a street lamp nearby and mad swirls of sand on a Kovalam beach. It bears witness to his trips to Washington DC, Barcelona, Mombasa and recently Chennai.

Mr. Wurst took the saying "to collect photographs is to collect the world" literally.

The best of Mr. Wurst "That Other Reality" is on display at Lakshana Museum of Aarts. The exhibition was inaugurated by N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu , who confessed that though he was not a connoisseur of the art of photography, he was a consumer of good photographs.

Mr. Ram first noticed Mr. Wurst's "very special eye" when he judged the Global Adjustments expat photo competition. Now, he has his own exhibition and a request from Mr. Ram to start photography classes.

Success with contrasts

The magic of Mr. Wurst's photographs lies in his absolute success with contrasts. And, he has an eye for shapes, blotches and discolourations. Though you may see a tombstone in a graveyard, he can make a beautiful picture out of a crack in the engraving. You see an ornate, crumbling building, he juxtaposes it with a brilliant blue sky and the effect is startling.

"That Other Reality" is on display at Lakshana, Judge Jambulingam Street, Mylapore, till August 7 — 10.30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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