From history to her story

Feminists have often rued the lack of representation of women in narratives, historical or otherwise. To bridge this gap, photographer Sarah Hoilund has curated a photography exhibition, Photographing the Female. The exhibition, which is currently taking place in the city, is a part of the FOCUS Photography Festival, an annual exhibition that started in 2013.

“This is not about female photographers taking pictures, but rather a female narrative. It is essential for us women to identify themselves and push forward in their narrative, and more than anything, to show the diversity of that narrative,” Sarah is quick to clarify.

For Poulomi Basu, one of the photographers who has contributed to this exhibition, interpreting the female narrative, has always been a part of her work. “I have always found it interesting to discover ways in which women challenge their roles in society. So when I met Sarah one day, we began discussing how a woman’s perspective is very nominal, both when it comes to narratives and the photographer who take photos,” she states.

To do just that, Sarah has divided the photographs that are part of the exhibition into three different categories — photos where the theme is universal, such as beauty standards and other such cultural restraints, women in very localised tropes, and women who are subverting the prevalent narrative. “The female identity is fluid. There is no one answer to the question of ‘who is a woman,’ and this is what we are ultimately trying to show. So we have a photograph of a young girl on her quincieda (an Ethiopian ritual, which marks the transition of a girl into womanhood) and a photograph of east African women, who are performing heavy metal, in the same exhibit,” Sarah elaborates, adding that she has also tried to show the tension between the individual and society when it comes to identity, through her selections.

Another photographer, who has subverted the female narrative is Prarthna Sing, who has explored female strength through a series of photographs of female wrestlers. “I stayed at their training camp in Lucknow for two weeks and got to know them and their stories, then took their photos in their wrestling avatars. They are mostly women from Haryana and Punjab, so I found it very interesting as to why they would want to get into wrestling, which is a sport where there is glory for only a few,” she says, adding that she intends to go back and continue her project with these women wrestlers for a more comprehensive project.

For festival director Elise Foster Vander Elst, the Photographing the Female show is special for a completely different reason. “It is always a great feeling to be able to give an opportunity to young and enthusiastic photographers from across the globe to display their works on an international platform, and with Photographing the Female, that is what we have done,” she explains, adding that another one of her favourite exhibitions happens to be one where school students from economically backward groups in the city have displayed their photographs, after training in workshops.

Ongoing till March 23, Sonam Studio, 13/B-C, Sun Mill Compound, Lower Parel