An exhibition of FABIEN CHARUAU’s photographs at Matthieu Foss Gallery, Mumbai. The two series on view are titled The Great Unwashed and Stumble Asleep. On view from September 02 to 30, 2010

 Matthieu Foss Gallery, Mumbai announces an exhibition of FABIEN CHARUAU’s photographs. The two series on view are titled The Great Unwashed and Stumble Asleep. On view: September 02 to 30, 2010

This is an emotive portrayal of the great unwashed, the multitudes that form the very core of India and yet find mainstream representation only through their extremes. Their un-exotic everyday human banalities receive no attention and go unrecorded. Fabien’s preoccupation with them has led him to a wholly subjective mapping of their daily life. Renouncing all interaction with the real, he abandons himself to an imagined documentation of people who are an intimate part of his daily experience. To him, this study based on the realm of feelings comes closer to reality than any socio-economic or other such factual inquiry could. Not concerned by the negative overtones of the literary phrase, for him the great unwashed becomes a fitting description of the masses as he exalts in the humanity that makes them great.

The Great Unwashed

The first suite revels in the simple, shared beauty of the body of the Indian men. Here, the focus is on the ambiguous sensuality that derives from masses of men living together in a jumble of touch. Fabien sees them as one sinuous entity mirroring the human body; individual cells packed on to each other and sharing everything, be it sweat, sex, ideas or disease. Yet, to him, they remain strikingly individual.

Stumble Asleep

In the second suite, we stumble upon dreams of the great unwashed. Fabien weaves a narration starting with sleepers and unfolding their dream that is in fact a projection of his own distorted visions. These stem from visual memories of India collected over the years, re-told, second-hand reminiscences that have left a deep imprint on him. Just like automatic writing, this is a sub-conscious narrative constructed from those memories.

What you have here is a simple interweaving of different projects such that there arises a dialogue, one that continues to engage Fabien.

 

About Fabien Charuau

For the last twelve years Fabien Charuau (b 1974) has been based in India, working on photo documentaries, photo journalism and portraits. His work has been seen in Indian and European publications like Wall Street Journal, Elle, Vogue, GQ, Rolls Royce Yearbook and Elle Decor. This project was shown at the Voies Off Festival in France and is now headed for the Pingyao International Festival in China this September. It was also part of a group show in Galerie de L’Instant, Paris earlier this year.

Fabien doesn’t think of himself as a French photographer but rather as an Indian photographer of French origin. India has been home to him for a third of his life and it’s here that he has learnt photography. Most of his subjects have been Indian. His eye is trained to the Indian palette. While he doesn’t claim to be integrated into Indian society, visually he is Indian.

His images conjure a pulsating vitality; as if colours, bodies and events are about to collide into each other. This vital chaos in his work comes from the deep impression that life in India continues to leave on him.

 

Show Opens on September 01 at 7pm

On view: September 02 to 30, 2010

11am to 7pm (sunday closed)

Matthieu Foss Gallery, Ground Floor, Hansraj Damodar Bldg, Goa Street , Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001 W: www.matthieufossgallery.com

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