{"id":269,"date":"2014-01-23T17:57:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-23T17:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/puinquirer.edu.in\/?p=269"},"modified":"2014-06-04T00:30:37","modified_gmt":"2014-06-03T19:00:37","slug":"olya-morvan-photo-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/puinquirer.edu.in\/?p=269","title":{"rendered":"When art and journalism fuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Through the looking glass<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

On Saturday 20th, The Inquirer team went for the opening of PONDY ART photography exhibition in the Old Distillery, in Pondicherry. Olya Morvan is a Franco-Ukranian photographer who spent two years of her life in Chennai exploring Indian culture. She finally stepped into it with photography. She used a camera to help her enter and understand Indian culture. Olya is a reporter of our times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her work conveys the emotion underlying current events. To cover an Indian festival, like the mourning of Muharram or Koovagam, you need the guts of a journalist and the eyes of an artist.The work of Olya Morvan is about beauty in reality. Her collaboration with PONDY ART creates a deeper connection with the photographs. The visitors to the exhibition are brought closer to the intense look of a young girl or the amused eyes of five year old monk.<\/span><\/p>\n

While explaining her experiences of documenting the Mariamman festival and monastic life, Olya Morvan also talked about the situations she had to face as a photojournalist. She shared with us how she had to gain acceptance in a community as a foreigner, a photographer and a woman. For Olya, being a photographer is not only about getting the image but more importantly the way one interacts with the subject. Wearing a salwar kameez, drinking tea and talking is her way of merging in the situation. She believes in the need to be accepted by the community, to become invisible and create a truthful work. Being introduced to Olya Morvan and her photographs reminds us to look with humility and respect towards every culture. As students of photojournalism, it has indeed been a breathtaking lesson of humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n