‘Entranced’ is a photograph from my body of work, ‘Fortifying Bonds
Beyond Time and Measure’ produced in 2017.
This is a photograph of the Buddha statues lit by the setting sun at the
entrance gallery at Angkor Wat temple complex. Rays of the sun form
intricate patterns as they sieve through the delicately carved windows. In this photo I have tried to create a sense
of interaction between the elements of foreground and background. With the play of three-dimensional and
two-dimensional elements, I attempt to create a composition that is both
abstract and realistic. The resulting
image is both an external and internal reality.
The photos reveal the soul of the structures and the impact of the
passage of time and experience have witnessed empires grow and fall. I have tried to present the true nature of the structure, not only how
it looks but also how it feels to be in its presence.
Temples
of Angkor Wat are supreme architectural achievement of the civilization of
Angkor. The Holy City of Angkor was abandoned in 1400 AD. and consumed by jungles when the first
Portuguese missionary passed in wonder through its gates.
Spanish Monk, Marcello de Ribadeneyra (1601) presumed that Kingdom of
Siam were ruins of a city built by Alexander the Great or Romans. He writes
that it is inhabited by ferocious animals, and local people say it is built by
foreigners. Standing tall for centuries, the city of Angkor and its
extraordinary temples were alien to its own people. It’s glorious past was all
lost in 150 years of abandonment and alienation by its subjects.
In
reality, the western scholars were also alien to the religion, the environment,
the people- virtually all aspects of its life and culture.
Looking
at the temples made by the Khmer Dynasty we question ourselves:
‘Are we really developed or civilized as compared to the city of a
million that existed 700 years ago?’
Or
‘Does our up-to-date warfare strategy make us more modern or civilized?’
Or
‘Are we really justified in saying that the ‘Lost Kingdom of Khmer
Dynasty’, a marvel of the world was waiting to be discovered, looted and then
restored?’
Through
a century of colonial rule, and agony of Khmer rule, the civilization of Angkor
continues to unify and inspire not just Khmer, but foreigners alike.
