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Tapping energy

Yann Toma speaks to Liza George on his love for experimenting with lights in photography

PHOTO S. GOPAKUMAR

FULL OF ENERGY YannToma

"India is a beautiful country. It is a land of high spirituality, a land rich in culture," says Yann Toma, a renowned photographer.

A multi-talented artist, Yann paints, handles the camera and sculpts, but his first love is photography. Born in 1969, Yann lives and works in Paris. This photographer is in India to capture the essence of India on his camera. The snaps will be on what fascinates him in the country. The pictures will then be made into a book called `Indian Vibes,' in association with the French Embassy.

A surreal feel

"India is full of energy and I want to tap that in my pictures." Going through his works, you can't help but find it appealing though some look eerie. Photographs of people surrounded by what looked like flexible lights, give the pictures a surreal feel.

"The energy that surrounds an individual is amazing. I love capturing that aura," says Yann.

French dancer clicked by Yann

Enchanted with Kerala's rich cultural heritage, he went to Margi in the city to take pictures of Kathakali artistes.

"I made them pose with make-up and I moved with my special lights real fast so that when the pictures are taken I'm not seen, but the lights are. Those lights represent the energy and aura of the artistes," says Yann, who also plans to travel to Kannur to capture the Theyyam performance through his lens.

Impressed with the recently held election campaigns, he says one can clearly see the political fervour among the people in the State.

"Such passion and energy! My camera had a field day," he says with a grin.

Ask him what he enjoyed the most in Kerala and he recounts how he brought out the creativity of a group of school children he visited.

"I gave them my lights. Realising I was not a teacher or an authoritative figure, they played with it as I snapped the pictures. I did not tell them what to do. What they did and how they used the lights came from their imagination. It was totally spontaneous."

However most of his photographs tend to question peoples' collective memory. He manipulates the photographic images and their claim to truth, thereby questioning our view of truth and reality in a variety of ways.

A photograph of a Kathakali artiste by Yann Toma

"We need to question things? If I tell you a story, and you tell it to a second, there will be a change or two. By the time the story reaches a fifth person, it becomes distorted. News is like that, by the time it reaches the public, owning to censorship by powers, be it political or enterprise, it is changed. My work tries to make people understand that they have to get back their independence of mind and learn to perceive what's real in this world. It's a bit like a parody," says Yann.

He goes on to add, "In a story, the artists tells us there is but one truth: the created image. My style forces people to scrutinise the world of images which has become complex on account of globalisation."

A contrast to culture

In fact while in Rajasthan, Yann noticed the number of billboards and advertisement hoardings. "It is a total contrast to the culture of the State. I, in turn, on an empty wall did a mural using my lights. Sort of like hijacking and a contradiction to the ads."

His pictures will be exhibited in an all-India exhibition. "The dates haven't been finalised as my trip isn't over. A visit to Dharamsala will mark the end of my trip."

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