Dhobi ghat with its melodrama of hues and splashes of water, photographer Hellmuth Conz is stunned by the images the space conjures. “There are umpteen opportunities to capture beautiful images in a setting like this. From the perspective of one human being observing a group of others, the fact that they go about doing their jobs, oblivious to how stunning a scene they create while doing it, draws me towards it. They go to work seven days a week; come rain or shine they are there, and I find this profoundly inspiring. There is the purest joy in capturing people in their element, and to witness their eyes light up when I show them their photograph.”
The idea of encapsulating the dhobi ghat began with a field trip with his student Abhijna.
“We visited the ghat for an outdoor lesson and the thought of an exhibition germinated. We went back to the place on numerous occasions, with the added intention of taking photographs for the exhibition. Everyone at the dhobi ghat has been extremely accommodating. There is a language barrier between the workers and myself, but my student was able to bridge it. She relayed to them the idea of the exhibition, and they had varied reactions- some were excited, some were skeptical, but they were all intrigued. We decided to turn it into something that could also benefit this community. Thirty percent of the proceeds from the sale of the photographs will be donated to the dhobi ghat and its workers.”
Shooting the dhobi ghat is different from what Hellmuth did back home in Germany. “There, I did a product and fashion photography. In Bangalore, as a teacher, I, at times shoot outdoors in the morning and hold a studio shoot in the evening. For this project, I've used an array of techniques — long exposure for the night shoot, or short exposure to capture an activity. I've played with the zoom effect, shooting from unconventional angles. This is another aspect of dhobi ghat that I love— it allowed us to adjust the camera settings in experimental ways and we were still able to capture the quintessence of the scene perfectly.”
This idea of exhibiting pictures in the same location where he shot them occurred to Hellmuth when he was earlier, shooting at a slum on Bannerghatta Road. “Displaying the pictures in the same place allows people an opportunity to live a day in the life of a dhobi, and I thought that this might be fascinating to witness,” he says.
Inspired, Hellmuth wishes to take dhobi ghat to Europe. “The concept of a dhobi ghat is somewhat unheard of there, and maybe I can change that with the help of an exhibition,” he beams.
Dhobi ghat photo exhibition, sponsored by Jouvin will be inaugurated on May 23, 5 pm. For viewing on May 24, 11 am to 5 pm, at Dhobi Ghat, Lazar Road, Bangalore- 560005, Next to BSNL Office.
For details, call Hellmuth Conz: 9845642172
