Category: Photography

Photographic observations, image series, and visual impressions from the Reading Deleuze in India project.

Art in Pondycherry: A look at the artists, their practice and visual language

Learn more about the artists and their inspiring practices in Pondycherry. Discover the visual language and spiritual depth of the art landscape around Auroville. Immerse yourself in the world of art beyond representational conception and discover the vibration of the senses. Experience how Deleuze's thinking and the Kena Upanishads are interwoven. Be inspired by the question of the body without organs and discover the limits of the physical body.

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Puducherry

The order of things

Standing on the loading bed of a small truck, I've been driving around Auroville these past few days, collecting various items for the Potters Market. These small trucks are the big brothers of tuk-tuks. Sometimes you see six or seven dozen people standing on them when a big festival is coming up. It's a popular mode of transport for people in the villages when they travel long distances together to be close to the gods. It's surprising how safe it is...

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Art beyond darkness - Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2022/23

Why do we need a biennial? I have often asked myself this question. Before COVID-19, I visited many places with international cultural events. During lockdown, I co-organized an artist residency program to reflect on the impact, threats and opportunities of COVID-19 for cultural workers. Everything went differently than expected. Now everyone is trying to get back to normal. Have we thoughtlessly spent trillions of euros and dollars to maintain a system that desperately needs a change?

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"Exhibition of the works of Amitabh Sengupta at the Kalakendra Art Gallery, Auroville"

The works of Amitabh Sengupta show a broad spectrum of styles and reflect the challenges faced by Indian artists in the 20th century. A major exhibition of his work is currently on display at the Kalakendra Art Gallery. Find out more about his influences and his significance for the Indian art scene.

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Adishakti Auroville

CADALFEST at Adishakti

The CADALfest took place from December 16th to 20th, 2022, in Adishakti. I hadn't planned on going, but I was thoroughly surprised by the four days of round-table discussions, poetry and film screenings, concerts, and theatrical performances by a fascinating group of artists, activists, and academics. I picked out a little something and on Saturday, attended the „Adivasi Round Table discussion with Vandna Tete, Ganga Sahay Meena, Seral Murmu & Ashwini Kumar Pankaj, moderated by Gopika Jadeja“ followed by the…

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Tiruvannamalai

Shiva Tiruvannamalei Deepam

Yesterday, I followed something in my mind that is difficult to describe. In everyday language, I might say I followed my intuition. But it's a bit more complex. I went back to Tiruvannamalai. It was the last day of the Karthigai Deepam Brahmotsavam Festival. So, on December 6, 2022, a fire was created on that mountain, as has been done for 2500 years. There is, of course, an ancient story about this. Brahman, the universal Self, manifested itself as Brahma (the creator), Vishnu...

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Strand Temple Auroville

Diagrams - philosophical

I'm slowly approaching Sanskrit. On Thursdays, Nishtha holds a seminar on the Rigveda. The joint recitation in Sanskrit, the detailed analysis of the translation, Nishtha's philological considerations, and the explanations of the psychology of the gods open up access to these ‚sacred‘ texts. I remember my Latin studies, the Indo-European roots, the sounds that echo in the Ragas, phonetics as an expression of existence, language as sound and vibration, communication as rhythm. The breath of life, yoga, vitality, thinking in...

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Raga Dagar Auroville

Dhrupad

They were four magical days. The Auroville Film Institute organized a residency with Ustad Bahauddin Dagar from November 7th to 10th, 2022. It took place in the Bhumika Hall, Bharat Nivas Auroville. Dhrupad – The Film (1983). Ustad Bahauddin Dagar is a Rudraveena player. His family has been playing the instrument for 20 generations! His father and uncle (Zia Mohiyuddin Dagar and Fariduddin Dagar) were true masters. There is also the wonderful film Dhrupad by the Indian director Mani Kaul. Mani Kaul…

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Mantras

I'm still at a loss for words. The past few days have been marked by thoughts of the Vedic scriptures. A companion from another life took me to Nishtha Muller, an Aurovilian who has dedicated his life to the Vedic scriptures. For almost 2 hours, in his very humble dwelling in the forest, which he planted himself, he told us about Sanskrit, its roots, grammar, pronunciation, the deep spiritual power of mantras, cultural history, and historical dimensions. His explanations are what most profoundly affected me...

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Auroville

Sleep research

Recently, I listened to a podcast about dreams and was once again very surprised. The head of the sleep lab in Mannheim says that anyone can train themselves to remember dreams. I can do that, so that's true. But what really surprises me is the reduction of dreams to the subconscious. Dreams, he says, merely use stronger images to alert us to something we are neglecting in our waking consciousness. A shame and sad, and at the same time telling, how pathetic this...

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Gauges

Today I visited a place for village children with special needs (Deepam). Someone from the guesthouse here had invited me to accompany them. It was a kind of ceremony as part of Navarathri in honor of the goddess Saraswathi – she represents education, prosperity, and success. In India today, the items needed for work were cleaned and consecrated as a form of thanks. Gifts were brought to them and songs were sung. At the therapy center, these included figurines, books…

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Blossom

Center guest house

Many films feature good hotels that are centrally located and where the political, intellectual, and economic elite gather. I've always perceived this as something very elitist, colonial, and power-hungry. What I missed in the films, and what was probably rarely addressed there, is the networking that takes place in such places. Now, the Center Guesthouse in Auroville is hardly comparable to a luxury hotel in a metropolis, although it is a very beautiful place that invites...

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Flusser

Yesterday, after many years, I finally drove to the village center of Roubion. Vilém Flusser lived here for many years. I often quoted his books in my seminars and used them as a basis for discussion. Especially his philosophy of photography. Flusser is a wild theorist. He wrote a lot about images, media, language, technology, signs, history... It seems to me that he repeatedly thought about how thinking works. How do words and images arise in our heads and how much does that have to do with...

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