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Determined to break barriers

Photographer, cook, history teacher... Meet Herman Rodrigues, who was in the city to showcase his works at the British Council

PHOTO: SHAJU JOHN

SNAPSHOTS OF A CULTURE Herman Rodrigues with his works

The terms `Asian' and `stereotype' are words that Herman Rodrigues dislikes as they are restrictive in his mind as they `cover part of a continent almost four thousand miles across.'

Rodrigues is a photographer with a deep passion for the camera and the `Asian community' in Scotland. His eye for observation gives him `a unique voice' in the opinion of his curator Kitty Douglas-Hamilton.

Combined with this `unique voice' is a definite sense of confidence as Rodrigues' subject matter for his photographs are wide ranging.

One of his photos has Sikh children sitting in their traditional attire happily displaying their passion for Scottish food. Another shows nouveau tech wise `Asians' in the IT industry. Others showcase a multitude of places, people, clothes, food and events as it becomes startlingly clear that Rodrigues does not limit himself to one dimension of life concerning `Asians' in Scotland's capital, Edinburgh.

Deeply rich

Rodrigues makes his living as a chef; a photographer with a desire to be a vocalist for what he sees as a `diverse community'. Rodrigues claims there is a parallel between `Scottish and Indian cultures' because they are both `deeply rich.' Consequently, Rodrigues believes there is a distinct possibility for fusing them. His curator says, "Herman recognises no barriers", and this is an encouraging thought for any art be it music or literature. If art is meant to be universal, then a photographer abiding by such a principal is surely going to have the fortune of their pictures having the most appeal and impact.

Herman sees his work as having two interlocking purposes: The first is to express the `colour and vibrancy of the Asian community' and secondly, to bring different communities together. When asked whether his driving force for documenting peoples' lives through photography originated thanks to his passion for pictures or as an agenda to educate and inform he remarks, "I have always had a passion for the Indian community and cameras."

Such a passion has driven Herman to exclusively photograph Indians, Sikhs, and Bangladeshis to such an extent that he sheepishly proclaims, "I know Edinburgh is a beautiful town with a lot of history but I have taken no pictures of it!" Herman also observes the unique position of the `Asian community' in Scotland. France, Britain and the United States have many Pakistanis, Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus and Bangladeshis within their borders but Scotland does not have such a community on the same scale. The community in Edinburgh is much smaller and so perhaps the intimate quality of his pictures reflects this striking difference.

History in photographs

Rodrigues, apart from being a cook and owning two restaurants in Scotland's capital (he uses Scottish ingredients for Indian style dishes) is a lecturer of history. "History can be captured in photography," he says, adding, "I am a social anthropologist." He estimates he has taken something like 20,000 shots and with a number like this; his dedication to such a specialised subject could be reaching encyclopaedic proportions.

Herman's dream, apart from seizing moments, would be to have `a million pounds, travel round the world and photograph things.' He may well be a little far off from reaching that dream but at least his work is travelling round the world with him and his camera, always ready to do its duty at a moment's notice.

MICHAEL KLIMES

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