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Vasantha Yogananthan

Afterlife

In this sixth chapter of his project A Myth of Two Souls, Vasantha Yogananthan recounts the episode of the war, which raises questions about death and reincarnation.

Afterlife is the sixth chapter of Vasantha Yogananthan’s long-term project A Myth of Two Souls inspired by the epic tale The Ramayana. Drawing inspiration from the imagery associated with this myth and its pervasiveness in everyday Indian life, Vasantha Yogananthan has retraced the legendary route from north to south India. A Myth of Two Souls is informed by the notion of a journey in time and space and offers a modern retelling of the tale.

Afterlife is centered around the bloody war between the army of Ravana and the army of Rama. As its title suggests, the chapter deals with death and reincarnation. With Rama’s cruelty finally revealed, the series can be read as a visual exploration of one man’s descent into the darkness of the soul. Although the pictures were shot in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu over two editions of Dussehra — the Indian festival celebrating the victory of good over evil — they do not document the festivities. They focus on the trance people try to reach night after night, as if during one week they were allowed to escape their bodies to become somebody else.

Back to his studio, Yogananthan did collages by mixing several pictures together to put the viewer in a state of disorientation. The Ramayana has been continuously rewritten and reinterpreted through time, and for Yogananthan’s Afterlife has been retold by Indian writer Meena Kandasamy. Amma — the seventh and last chapter of A Myth of Two Souls — will be published next year and will mark the end of the project (2013-2021).

Vasantha Yogananthan (born in 1985 in Grenoble) lives and works in Marseille.
He is a self-taught photographer who is deeply attached to silver photography. The book is a central object in his practice, which led him to co-found the publishing house Chose Commune. He has carried out his projects over a long period of time, first in France on the beach at Piémanson (2009-2013), then in India and Sri Lanka Sri-Lanka around the myth of the Rāmāyana (2013-2021). In 2022, he carries out a new project in New Orleans, USA, as part of the Immersion program of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, of which it is a winner. He is represented by Jhavery contemporary (Mumbay) and The Photographers’ Gallery Print Sales (London).
First edition
Editorial direction: Cécile Poimbœuf-Koizumi
Concept and layout: Vasantha Yogananthan
Design: Kummer & Herrman
Poem: Meena Kandasamy
136 pages (40 shorter pages 20 x 30 cm)
80 photographs
24,5 x 30 cm
Section-sewn debossed hardcover with tip-on
English
Publication date: 18 September 2020
ISBN: 979-10-96383-18-4
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Vasantha Yogananthan

Afterlife

Edition of 16 comprising a first edition book with one of two inkjet prints by Vasantha Yogananthan (21 x 25 cm, signed and numbered on the reverse), housed together in a 32 x 26 cm clamshell box, handmade by La Reliure Contemporaine (Morina Mongin).
Each box is unique and may look slightly different from the picture.
The print is sold framed.

Vasantha Yogananthan (born in 1985 in Grenoble) lives and works in Marseille.
He is a self-taught photographer who is deeply attached to silver photography. The book is a central object in his practice, which led him to co-found the publishing house Chose Commune. He has carried out his projects over a long period of time, first in France on the beach at Piémanson (2009-2013), then in India and Sri Lanka Sri-Lanka around the myth of the Rāmāyana (2013-2021). In 2022, he carries out a new project in New Orleans, USA, as part of the Immersion program of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, of which it is a winner. He is represented by Jhavery contemporary (Mumbay) and The Photographers’ Gallery Print Sales (London).
Free shipping to France on orders over 50€
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Vasantha Yogananthan

Amma

In this seventh and final chapter of his project A Myth of Two Souls, Vasantha Yogananthan explores the concept of purity and the infinite cycle of life represented by the myth of the Ramayana.

A Myth of Two Souls (2013-2021) is inspired by the epic tale The Ramayana. Drawing inspiration from the imagery associated with this myth and its pervasiveness in everyday Indian life, Vasantha Yogananthan has retraced the legendary route from Nepal to India to Sri Lanka. First recorded by the Sanskrit poet Valmiki around 300 BC, The Ramayana has been continuously rewritten and reinterpreted, and continues to evolve today. Yogananthan’s series is informed by the notion of a journey in time and space and offers a modern retelling of the tale.

The seventh and last chapter, Amma (‘Mother’ in Tamil language) closes the project A Myth of Two Souls, after 437 pictures published over seven books (2016-2021). To celebrate this epic saga, Chose Commune releases a very special book in close collaboration with the artist — a book with 60 photographs tipped-in by hand (printed and bound in Italy).

Amma is centered around the princess Sita and deals with the concept of ‘purity’. By no means a happy ending, the closure of The Ramayana forces us to question Rama’s behaviour and his obedience to rules set by a patriarchal society. On the other hand, Sita’s beliefs and actions are free from culture. Sita means furrow in sanskrit, she is the daughter of the Earth.

The pictures composing Amma take us from the seacoast of Sri Lanka, to the city of Ayodhya to the jungle of Bihar, India. Their chromatic scale recreate a world where civilization gradually disappears to leave room to a purely metaphysical space. The Ramayana has neither end nor beginning. It represents the circle of life and therefore it will always be.

Vasantha Yogananthan (born in 1985 in Grenoble) lives and works in Marseille.
He is a self-taught photographer who is deeply attached to silver photography. The book is a central object in his practice, which led him to co-found the publishing house Chose Commune. He has carried out his projects over a long period of time, first in France on the beach at Piémanson (2009-2013), then in India and Sri Lanka Sri-Lanka around the myth of the Rāmāyana (2013-2021). In 2022, he carries out a new project in New Orleans, USA, as part of the Immersion program of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, of which it is a winner. He is represented by Jhavery contemporary (Mumbay) and The Photographers’ Gallery Print Sales (London).
First edition
Editorial direction: Cécile Poimbœuf-Koizumi & Vasantha Yogananthan
Design: Kummer & Herrman
Text: Vasantha Yogananthan
Cover artwork: Jatinder Singh Durhailay
168 pages
60 photographs tipped in by hand
24,5 x 30 cm
Section-sewn open spine softcover with printed dust jacket
French/English
Publication date: 27 September 2021
ISBN: 979-10-96383-22-1
Free shipping to France on orders over 50€

Vasantha Yogananthan

Howling Winds

For the fifth chapter of his project A Myth of Two Souls, Vasantha Yogananthan traveled to the coastline of Tamil Nadu, India, and Sri Lanka.

Howling Winds is the fifth chapter of Vasantha Yogananthan’s long-term project A Myth of Two Souls, which offers a contemporary retelling of The Ramayana. A seven-chapter tale first recorded by the Sanskrit poet Valmiki around 300 BC, The Ramayana is one of the founding epics of Hindu mythology and has been continuously rewritten and reinterpreted through time.

Since 2013, Yogananthan has been travelling from north to south India to Sri Lanka, retracing the itinerary of the epic’s heroes. Between fiction and reality, he deliberately blurs the lines through multiple aesthetic approaches.

At the end of chapter 4, the wicked Ravana abducts Princess Sita. While Rama is in great distress, hundreds of thousands of animals from all around the world gather to search for Sita. They know that on the far shore of the ocean is the bright and shining island of Lanka, where Ravana is living.

Shot along the coastlines of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, Howling Winds mixes classic color photographs with acrylic hand-painted photographs to echo a world of magic.

A Myth of Two Souls will be published in seven photobooks between 2016-2020, one per chapter of the epic.

Vasantha Yogananthan (born in 1985 in Grenoble) lives and works in Marseille.
He is a self-taught photographer who is deeply attached to silver photography. The book is a central object in his practice, which led him to co-found the publishing house Chose Commune. He has carried out his projects over a long period of time, first in France on the beach at Piémanson (2009-2013), then in India and Sri Lanka Sri-Lanka around the myth of the Rāmāyana (2013-2021). In 2022, he carries out a new project in New Orleans, USA, as part of the Immersion program of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, of which it is a winner. He is represented by Jhavery contemporary (Mumbay) and The Photographers’ Gallery Print Sales (London).
First edition
Graphic design: Kummer&Herrman
Text: Arshia Sattar
76 pages
70 photographs
24,5 x 30 cm
Silkscreenet softcover with wire-o binding
French / English
Publication date: 1 July 2019
ISBN: 979-10-96383-12-2

With the support of the Centre National des Arts Plastiques's publishing grant.
Free shipping to France on orders over 50€

Vasantha Yogananthan

Dandaka

In this fourth chapter of his project A Myth of Two Souls, Vasantha Yogananthan retraces the episode of the abduction.

“Dandaka” is the fourth chapter of Vasantha Yogananthan’s long-term project A Myth of Two Souls, which offers a contemporary retelling of The Ramayana. A seven-chapter tale first recorded by the Sanskrit poet Valmiki around 300 BC, The Ramayana is one of the founding epics of Hindu mythology.

Since 2013, Yogananthan has been travelling from north to south India, retracing the itinerary of the epic’s heroes. Between fiction and reality, he deliberately blurs the lines through multiple aesthetic approaches: colour, hand-painted and illustrated photographs are interspersed with vernacular images to compose the layers of this timeless story.

The end of chapter three sees Lakshmana cut Surpanakha’s nose off. After seeing his sister disfigured, Ravana, the king of Sri Lanka, starts to plot his revenge. Rama and Lakshmana have no idea that their barbaric act – the mutilation of a woman – has sealed Sita’s fate. The fourth chapter tells about Sita’s abduction by Ravana. The Ramayana has been continuously rewritten and reinterpreted through time, Dandaka mixes strips from the comic book version of the epic, which was published in the 1970s, along with Vasantha Yogananthan’s photographs.

A Myth of Two Souls will be published in seven photobooks between 2016-2020, one per chapter of the epic.

Vasantha Yogananthan (born in 1985 in Grenoble) lives and works in Marseille.
He is a self-taught photographer who is deeply attached to silver photography. The book is a central object in his practice, which led him to co-found the publishing house Chose Commune. He has carried out his projects over a long period of time, first in France on the beach at Piémanson (2009-2013), then in India and Sri Lanka Sri-Lanka around the myth of the Rāmāyana (2013-2021). In 2022, he carries out a new project in New Orleans, USA, as part of the Immersion program of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, of which it is a winner. He is represented by Jhavery contemporary (Mumbay) and The Photographers’ Gallery Print Sales (London).
First edition
Design : Kummer&Herrman
112 pages + 13 inserts
51 photographs and 13 comic strips
24,5 x 30 cm
Section-sewn hardcover with trimmed edges
French / English
Publication date: 10 September 2018
ISBN: 979-10-96383-07-8
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