An ode to Mumbai

As a white woman living in Mumbai, Clemence Jacqueri is not a stranger to uninvited stares. But she looks at it as an opportunity to connect with people of diverse faiths and belonging to varied eclectic cultures. Armed with a camera, she goes about exploring the hidden streets in the city. The outcome is a series of 70 photographs that will be presented at the Cymroza Art Gallery this weekend. Titled Mumbai Through a Foreign Lens, Clemence states that this exhibition is only an ode to her affair with Mumbai. She says, “From the moment I arrived here as an expat, I was captured by the sights, sounds and smells of the Maximum City. It’s like falling into a kaleidoscope!”

Clemence consciously overlooked the popular tourist favourites like heritage sites and significant places of worship for the exhibition. “Everyone is in a hurry to photograph what has already been documented. It is when you go off-track that you discover hidden gems like street art, amazing entrances, architecture, street vendors, animals, children and idols,” she explains adding, “Moreover, you will always find a local person waiting to give you trivia about the place.” Understandably, it’s the streets that Clemence likes capturing the most. “The streets are the heartbeat of the city — whether it’s a street, a fancy suburb, a slum, a temple or a waterside. There is magic in these streets.”

While language proved to be a barrier, the photographer is impressed with the non-verbal language that its citizens communicate with. She says, “There is a universal language between parents who are proud of their children, vendors who want to sell products, the faithful entering places of worship and fisherman hauling their catch. I am interested in people’s stories and lives, and luckily, they can communicate non-verbally. At the end of the day, I have realised that if you can laugh at yourself, then Mumbai will laugh with you.”

However, Clemence believes there is a lot more left to be explored. She says, “Despite my best efforts, I am nowhere close to capturing this city. At best, I have just started to scratch the surface. Every time I left the apartment there was something new to see and experience.”
February 4 to 6, 11 am to 7 pm, At Cymroza Art gallery, 72 Bhulabhai Desai Road, Breach Candy