Forum Art Gallery, Adyar, Chennai, India
From the ethereal beauty of large-format paper negatives to the rich, textured surfaces of gum oil prints, and the unexpected dialogues between AI and experimental darkroom techniques, Alt:Analog presents a diverse exploration of material, process and concept.
The artworks presented in this exhibition were created during a 6 week residency at the Chennai Photo Biennale Darkroom. Working across different processes, the artists demonstrate the evolving possibilities of alternative and analog photographic techniques, often challenging traditional ideas. These projects draw on the darkroom as a space for meditative introspection, experimental discovery, friendship and camaraderie.
This project is the result of a partnership between CPB Foundation and Photoworks, supported by the British Council.
Explore the artists and their works below:
Holly Birtles, Fighting Fish
Holly Birtles reflects on her ongoing work inspired by the Thames River London and Estuary in Kent, Essex and Suffolk, where performers and artists contemplate their choreographed roles as ‘Thames Monsters’. In Chennai, Birtles responds to the Adyar and Cooum rivers, identifying parallels linked to sentimentality, dedication, care, and destruction.
The project Fighting Fish embodies monstrosity, intertwining beauty and magnificence with the grotesque, haze, mud, waste, life, and death.
Soham Joshi, Camera and The Queer Image — Chennai
Camera and The Queer Image — Chennai explores identity, belonging, and visibility within Chennai’s queer community using paper negatives as both medium and metaphor. The project draws parallels between the experience of queer individuals navigating rigid societal norms and the physical tension of working with a large-format camera.
The project centres on black-and-white portraits of queer individuals from Chennai, created collaboratively in spaces chosen by the sitters. These portraits honour their stories and experiences, highlighting their visibility within a conservative cultural framework.
Ārun – Stopping by the Woods
This on-going body of work is a visual exploration inspired by Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and the classical Tamil poem Kuṟiñcippāṭṭu. Through this series, I seek to create a surreal representation of the landscapes, people, and emotions I encountered during my journeys in the mountain regions of Tamil Nadu, rather than simply documenting them.
The poem’s exploration of love, longing, and connection resonated with my own experiences in the landscape, guiding me to create not just photographs, but a visual dialogue with nature and the people who inhabit it.
