11/9/2013
Manjari Sharma
ClampArt, New York
Darshan & Shower Series. "Darshan" is a series that aims to photographically recreate various classical images of Gods and Goddesses pivotal to mythological stories in Hinduism. "Shower Series": the best way to get a subject to relax in front of her camera lens was to get them in the shower.
ClampArt is happy to present “Darshan: Photographs by Manjari Sharma,” the artist’s first solo show in New York City.
“Darshan” is a Sanskrit word meaning “vision” or “view,” and is most commonly used in the context of Hindu worship. It can also be translated as an “apparition” or a “glimpse.” One may seek and receive the Darshan of a deity, and upon sight, that Darshan may invoke an immediate connection between that deity and the devotee. A Darshan can ultimately be described as an experience purposed on helping one focus and call out to his or her sense of spirituality.
“Darshan” is a series that aims to photographically recreate various classical images of Gods and Goddesses pivotal to mythological stories in Hinduism. Printed on a massive scale, these photographs are presented at ClampArt in an elaborate installation that closely mimics the experience of a Hindu temple, complete with incense, lamps, and invocations.
Historically, Hindu deities have been depicted endlessly through painting and sculpture. However, portraying these Gods and Goddesses photographically is what makes Sharma’s project so unique. To make imagery for the series, exhaustive research on each character
leads to the assemblage of a team of approximately thirty-five Indian craftsmen who create props, sets, prosthetics, make-up, costumes, and jewelry to the artist’s exacting specifications. These shoots rival the production standards of a motion picture film in both complexity and budget. The final photographs are not the product of extensive digital manipulation through Photoshop, but rather are primarily straight images planned in-camera made with extreme patience, perseverance, and an elaborate vision.
This exhibition is generously supported by LTI/Lightside Photographic Services.
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ClampArt is pleased to present Manjari Sharma’s “Shower Series.” Four years back, Sharma discovered the best way to get a subject to relax in front of her camera lens was to get them in the shower.
Shooting in her own apartment in Brooklyn, the artist invited friends and acquaintances over to sit for a portrait. What she eventually realized was that much of the awkwardness and anxiety of posing for a picture strangely melted away in the intimacy of a shower.
Once they would agree, Sharma’s subjects almost invariably relaxed in demeanor and conversation as the warm water began to flow. Standing in that private space typically only shared by a parent or a lover, the artist now has heard about the emotional journeys of a number of people. For a feature on the series written by Lauren Russell for CNN, Sharma stated, “The shower creates this confessional-like space.”
Customarily, Sharma would begin the dialogue with simple questions, allowing people to open up over time. “It was like Russian dolls, and it became more and more personal,” she says. Sharma feels the best photographs are those in which the subject shared the most—both conversationally and physically. Those who could not make eye contact with the camera seemed to be the ones who had the most difficulty surmounting their reticence.
Sharma concludes, “I have been told by my sub-jects that it is thrilling and adventuresome to be in my shower. Secretly cheating my traditional and
tame Indian upbringing, I live through all of my subjects—fighting their wars and braving their fears for those few hours where we are connected through this pious space. I continue to investigate this photo project, which has thus far given rise to some of the fastest, most disarming relationships I have ever formed.”
Manjari Sharma (b. 1979) is a photographer born and raised in Mumbai, India, now based in Brooklyn, New York. She has a BA in Visual Communication from S.N.D.T. University, Mumbai, and a BFA in Still Photography from Columbia College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio. Her images have appeared in such publications as Forbes India Magazine, Vogue India, and Geo Magazine, and online at NPR, The New York Times, PDN, The Huffington Post, and Life Magazine. Sharma received an honorable mention for the prestigious Santa Fe Prize in 2012, and she was invited as a “Shots and Works” artist for LOOK 3: Festival of the Photograph in 2013.
This exhibition is generously supported by Rayographix Fine Art Digital Printing in Bushwick Brooklyn, New York.
Artist’s reception: Thursday, September 12, 2013 6:00 to 8:00 p.m
ClampArt
521-531 West 25th Street
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New York City 10001
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646.230.8008 F
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