Art in the City: Parallel Views

'Chariots of frolic' depicts indigenously designed and fabricated wedding chariots found in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu. The chariots are hired on the night of a wedding reception to have the bride and groom driven around town to announce their betrothal.

Samar Jodha first came across members of the Tai Phake tribe in the winter of 2004, while driving along the historic Stilwell road from Southwest China into India’s cloistered northeast on a documentary project.

His involvement in Phaneng has been with an education project, rebuilding a monastery, and a unique eco-tourism project that has built local capacity as well as raised incomes. His proximity to the Tai Phake community, their trust in him, the years spent documenting various facets of their life, all this gradually led him towards this large format portraiture project. 

The Alter Project is about what the artist felt during his short residency in Chennai, India and how it has affected him. Differing cultural backgrounds of people often determine how one perceives things and the resultant reaction to certain phenomena. This is referred to as ‘cultural relativism’ and serves as the viewpoint for these works.

Through the project, the artist asks how the diversity of cultures, languages, races and religions may be respected and accepted in this era of globalisation. In an era of diversity, absolute faith must not result in any form of violence.