Presence and Flow

In mid October, Aurovilian Frederic Martin Duchamp presented ‘Presence and Flow’, an exhibition of photographs from different parts of the world at the Centre d’Art in Citadines.

For him, ‘presence and flow are deeply rooted in the act of dance. This exhibition wants to be a celebration of these states of Being that we all can experience through movement and music.

The exhibition consisted entirely of Frederic’s signature black and white shots of dancers caught in intimate, quintessential moments of their art. Each photo seemed iconic and alive with the dynamism and presence captured from an ephemeral moment or detail that would escape the naked eye, especially in the context of the action of a dance.

The rooms felt richly filled with the monochrome prints, while simultaneously giving the impression of ample distance and space between every piece on the gallery walls.

Although the images were captured in different countries and at different times, there was a palpable synergetic thread that brought all of the cultures represented together. This coming together may be explained by the linking thread of the gypsy route. Starting from India, to Persia, to Spain and beyond, the movements and expressions of all these dancers seemed to move to the same beat within these gallery walls. Faces from a variety of ethnicities and cultures are all depicted engrossed in the bliss of their art, often with eyes closed, a subtle inner smile on lips, and ecstatically flung limbs accompanied by flying hair.

After first being greeted by half blurry arms thrust in the air with Flamenco passion, there followed Persian swirling dancers, Rajasthani Kathak dancers, Bharatanatyam scenes, and other perhaps lesser known styles, such as the Odisha Afro Cuban dance.

Certain photos showed larger scenes, such as a crowded stage of dancers moving in unison, an impression that was then juxtaposed by the next photo with a zoomed in perspective, showing just a detail, such as the shaking bell-anklets of an Indian dancer.

The stunning centerpiece that undoubtedly stole the show was a shot of a Terukkuttu Tamil street theatre performer. The photo captured him gripping a sword, mid spin in a warrior-like stance, with an extremely still fierce face, sharply caught by the photo in all of its detail. The contrasting blurry swirl of skirt costumes caught afloat in a flurry around him gave the idea of an oil painting, and then the whole image was grounded again with the dancer’s foot firmly planted on the floor, in sharp photographic detail once again. To see both such visual clarity and blurriness in one photo, playing so harmoniously and astonishingly together, was truly breathtaking.

This massive image covered the length of the glass wall, and was printed on a transparent film, so that the silhouette of the dancer became translucent and the light from outside the gallery lit him up, giving a ‘presence’ to the piece.

Frederic was happy to share about his passion and admiration for all of the dance forms he has encountered on his path, and spoke knowledgeably about the history, evolution, and context of some of the lesser known forms (such as Terukkuttu and Odisha.)

Although he is a skilled photographer with many years of experience, he says he is still a beginner in photography, and that he is ‘in the exploration and the fascination of the ‘Critical Moment’ of Henri Cartier Bresson, the Stillpoint, the Thehrav (Hindi for ‘still point’) moment, expressed as witnessing an event that is ephemeral and spontaneous, where the image represents the essence of the event itself. And that is exactly what comes through every photo.