Bengaluru: Lensman who finds his muse in candlelight

BENGALURU: For freelance photographer K. Venkatesh even mundane things can spark inspiration. In his latest exhibition he finds his muse in the hands that hold candles, which burn themselves out to spread light.

He remarked that if one paid close attention even an ordinary candlelight becomes extraordinary. “When people go to pray, they carry a candle. They even share a candle. They make sure the flame stays lit; they protect it with their hands. In that one moment a candle becomes a beacon of faith, something that connects them to the divine. At the same time, if it is a protest, the same candle becomes a voice for pain.”

He has put together a series of fifty-five photographs called ‘Candle Lights Kindle Hopes’ that tells the tale of the candlelight and the way it quietly brings together communities and faiths, without anyone really noticing it.

Since all the subjects in the photographs are just hands holding candles, one can’t really tell which faith or community they belong to, said Venkatesh. “There are no faces, not one, throughout the series. It is only hands holding candles sometimes at prayers or peace rallies or ceremonies. The reverence they command is the same for all ages, colours and communities. You can’t tell who is who by their hands; all you can see is the respect for light,” he added.

The photographs in this series that were shot over a span of about eight months on a Nikon D700, had no artificial lighting or staged characters, he said. “I shot the pictures from afar all in natural light. As they were hands, the subjects were less guarded. I have shot them all over the city, in churches, temples at different occasions and each shot was more fascinating than the last one.”

The Bengaluru based photographer who has worked with numerous newspapers and magazines in India and abroad, decided to start a career in photography when he was a 20 years old. He had dropped out of school and used to frequent a library in Malleswaram, with a newspaper in his hand, wondering what to do next in life.

“I saw this picture in the paper and the byline under it and I wanted one for myself,” he said with a smile. “But that was 32 years ago”. Since then, he has had twenty photo exhibitions of his own. ‘Candle Lights Kindle Hopes’ exhibition will be open from September 26-29, from10 am to 7pm at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in the city.