Photo art at a Cancer hospital

04 November,2009 10:47 AM IST |   |  Priyanjali Ghose

David Davison, the internationally renowned photographer, brings his exhibition of shadow pictures to an unusual venue


David Davison, the internationally renowned photographer, brings his exhibition of shadow pictures to an unusual venue

David Davison's 15 photographs hang from a white wall at Healthcare Global Enterprises, au00a0 cancer hospital.

A sudden visit to an Italian churchu00a0 inspired David Davison to introduce the Trinita series

Why did this internationally known photographer choose a venue like this for his show Within Site Within Sight?
"My pieces are all about shadows," said Davison. "When people come here to look at the art, they see their friends and families reflected in these photos."

Davison's ceramic works and paintings are displayed in Hungary, Italy, New Zealand and other countries.
"I wanted the two words 'site' and 'sight' to speak to each other. Site speaks of a place, while sight means insight, which speaks of a place we bring to it, perhaps in our belief," says Davison.

He remembers how he came across a 15th century church in an Italian village one November afternoon. The sun was blinding.

The builders of the church knew that at a particular time of the year the sun would fall on the columns and fill up the arch. He saw that the place had warmly lit-up frescos, paintings in which scenes from Bible are portrayed.u00a0

"I looked at the windows and the shadows flowing through the church," Davison told MiD DAY. "I found that shadows create new pieces of architecture."

Davison has spent 45 years photographing shadows. "Shadows happen only with light," says Davison.

Davison shot the images in black and white to make the past more eloquent and nostalgic.

His favourite remains the image of a tall drainpipe on which the resplendent rays of the sun create a shadow and a ring of light gives it an ethereal look. "The drain pipe looked like magic," he said.

The photographs show how the light and shadow plays hold the church together.

A particular interesting picture is one in which a single ray passes through the hand of a saint in a fresco. Davison waited 45 minutes to click that image.

The images are subtle in texture, and reveal a world of insight and wisdom.

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At: Swasti Art Gallery, HCG Towers, # 8, P Kalinga Rao Road (Near Geo Hotel), Sampangi Ram Nagar.u00a0
On Till: November 15
Call: 4205 8160
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Photo Exhibition Cancer Hospital Italian Church David Davison