CPB 2024 | Light, Salt, Water by Sujatha Shankar Kumar reflects on permanence and change

Explore the essential elements of life through Sujatha Shankar Kumar's photography show Light, Salt, Water at Chennai Photo Biennale.

There are some elements that are essential to sustain life. Air, food, water, and shelter are what we know to be basic building blocks of civilization which transcends human life. Photographer, designer, and writer Sujatha Shankar Kumar explores the elements essential for life at her photography show Light, Salt, Water which is displayed at Artworld Sarala’s Art Centre as part of the Chennai Photo Biennale (CPB). 

“How long do we live? Why are we so caught up with the idea of permanence? That’s what my show speaks of. About how we take everything that feels ephemeral and turn it into something that lasts,” she says . Her show, Light, Salt, Water is a collection of projects she has done over the years. With some shot on traditional film and some digitally, the projects reflect the idea of how we interact with the world around us and how we imagine our place in it. 

The first project of the collection, which depicts reflections of high-rise buildings in the Chicago River, is the oldest project on display, shot in 1994. “The idea was that even in a city like Chicago, where everything is hard and things are transient, humans put so much effort into making things permanent. It occurred to me that at some point these were grasslands and marshes, and the reflections looked different,” she says, adding that the same waters that carried the past will also carry the future.

These images were shot on Ilford 400 film, which is a type of high-speed camera film. “With this kind of film, I can choose which colour I want to print. I printed these images in greyscale, browns and blues, and the blue looked the best because of the water,” she says. 

Another fascinating project on display is her ode to the city of Chennai. Shot across Parry’s, George Town, Triplicane and Mylapore, the project is a depiction of a place through objects and patterns instead of people. The images of daily-life objects like idli steamers, plates, carpets, and pans represent life in their own way without including people in the frame. “I don’t like shooting people because I feel I’m using them. I love objects and textures,” says Sujatha adding that the note accompanying the project speaks about Porul, which in Tamil means objects. The word also means wealth according to Porutal (Book of Porul) from Thirukkuṟaḷ, which became an unintended inspiration for the series of photographs.

The element of salt is represented in the show with three images from the salt pans of Marakkanam, a coastal town in the Viluppuram district. The project is the most valuable of the lot. Printed on Hahnemuhle archival mat fibre paper, the monochrome images depict the salt extraction from the ocean. One particular image titled ‘Watching the Mound’ stands out among the series. It shows a mound of salt piled up like a pyramid and a dog watchfully protecting the treasure of the ocean. 

Light, Salt, Water by Sujatha Shankar Kumar will be on display at Artworld Sarala’s Art Centre as a part of the Chennai Photo Biennale until January 12, 2025.