People have different ways to instigate conversations around different issues. Women’s safety is one such big issue that needs to be talked about until every woman is safe. While protests, films and art are ways to start the dialogue around this issue, Hari Krishnan, a professional photographer, is on a venture that will go into all the corners of society and hopefully, come back with spectacular results. His photography exhibition Alien, which portrays the solitude of a woman, is all about women and society. He throws certain questions to the viewer. Is she really safe? How does society alienate a woman instead of offering a helping hand? How can we ensure that she is safe?
His 11 photographs exhibited at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery on Women’s Day, portray a woman, dressed as an angel, posing at different locations – signifying each woman who is attacked, ill-treated and alienated from society. “The idea of the angel’s outfit was inspired from many bad incidents where children got attacked. We consider children as angels, so attack on them is like attacking the most sacred. So I have decided to bring angel wings and white attire,” says Hari.
He says the response from the commoners during the photo shoot was very unusual as to his surprise, people understood what he meant with that costume and makeup. The locations for the photo shoot were Mattancherry, Fort Kochi and Ernakulam Market. “What I was trying to do was making images that represent all the victims. You don’t want people to turn away; you want to draw them in.”
The photographer, who believes in contributing something to society through all his acts, is breaking all barriers through his photo exhibitions.
Hari’s photography exhibition on dark-skinned women back in 2015 was a hard blow to race/colour discrimination. Then in 2016, he made waves by photographing half-naked transgender persons. “Transgender persons get no support from society most of the times as they are considered a taboo. That project was based on their issues,” he recalls, adding that it was his photo shoot that triggered the new wave of support to transgender community.“Photographs speak to a different part of your brain. Sometimes it is not easy to translate into words the emotions, ideas or protests inside you. Only a picture can show you that,” feels Hari.
The model associated with this project is actress Aileena Catherin Amon. For her working on Alien was a novel experience. “Normally, photo shoots do not have such messages. But this project shed lights on the atrocities that women faces and how society reacts to it. We hear one or two incidents every day. But what is this society doing to stop it? How come a woman is getting alienated when something happens,” asks Aileena. She says they could convey the message instantly to the people during the photo shoot.
Hari, who hails from Tiruvalla in Kottayam district, works as magazine photographer. He has plans for more photo exhibitions based on socially relevant themes. Alien will end on March 14.
