The making of a biennale is all shades of chaos. A week ago, scaffoldings, stacked prints, and the trusty measuring tape were all that characterised the preparation for the ongoing fourth edition of the Chennai Photo Biennale (CPB). But today, an elderly woman with a cascading plait, walks straight into VR mall’s makeshift gallery, once a 2,800 sq ft grey, rusty store space, to squint closely at Chennai-based photographer Aishwarya Arumbakkam’s unconventional portraits — of hair, some plaited, some in luscious buns, and some simply a callous mess. She leaves, still curious. Perhaps, her plait now feels seen.

Aishwarya is one of 12 strangely curious, promising Tamil photographers who make the show Vaanyerum Vizhuthugal (translates to roots that touch the sky) that set fire to this three-month long engagement with photography. This is along with a compendium of artists from world over, who explore how women respond to their immediate world through the medium of photography, in a second show titled It’s time. To see. To be seen. CPB begins with these two indoor primary exhibits.

One of the most pertinent questions that plague the digital era today is, ‘why photograph?’ At a time when every waking moment gets documented voluntarily or involuntarily, the medium of photography finds itself amid an existential crisis. The sheer volume of photographs that consume one’s life today, and the advent of AI and its intervention into art, often begs this question: what is the future of photography? CPB’s fourth edition finds itself in this cross section, and takes off from Dayanita Singh’s ongoing exploration #whyphotograph? 

“Every edition is a complete experiment that turns the last one on its head,” says Varun Gupta, managing trustee of CPB. The pilot was simply a bunch of mad creatives coming together to realise a dream. “Edition 2 is when we came of age with [curator Pushpamala] making us rethink what photography is,” recalls Varun. To this day, the glass-stained windows of the Senate House play hide and seek in one’s memory of a baby biennale. Edition 3, on the other hand, was caught in the quagmires of the pandemic — so intellectually deep and very critical”, says Varun. 

Farheen Fatima’s series titled Meet Me in the Garden | Photo Credit: special arrangement

This time around however, while the critical lens exists, the biennale wanted to be hopeful, to perhaps lift the depressive veil that often shrouds critically-acclaimed art, adds Varun from Lalit Kala Akademi. As though in agreement, behind him stands Bengaluru-based photographer Indu Antony’s quirky body of work, Cecilia-ed, that looks at gendered spaces by having her flamboyant, unbothered 75-year-old friend, Cecilia, donning sequined dresses and stilettos exuding ‘main character energy’. 

Through these years Varun says that they have grown up too. “One of the biggest criticisms that we received in 2019 was that while we were showing the world’s best talent, where was the local talent?” The challenge was to find a show that made sense not just to the audience here but to the world of art. It is why this year, the biennale opened with Vanyerum Vizhuthugal, curated by Jaisingh Nageswaran, where photography transcends conventions and linearity. Jaisingh calls it the “Tamil new wave”. This curation was an attempt at bridging that gap between lived realities and image making, says Jaisingh. “The need for a show that tells stories from the inside was viscerally felt,” he adds. 

Vivek Mariappan’s As Close As It Gets | Photo Credit: VIVEK.MARIAPPAN

While the show invites one to reflect, back in Lalit Kala Akademi’s newly renovated first floor, are an accomplished bunch of photographers who knowingly or unknowingly subverts the moniker that invites ready scorn: ‘women artists’. Shuchi Kapoor, founding trustee of CPB and curator says, “It’s 2024, there are enough women who have contributed to the larger spectrum of photographic practices and each of them involve visuals. One core idea was to explore the role of placemaking, to understand the places where women are taking space.”

Since this edition is all about asking questions, this show has also emerged from questions. In Farheen Fatima’s Meet Me In The Garden, a series of photographs layered with digital drawings, whimsical, almost dreamlike frames, capture the longing that humans have for gardens. Nony Singh’s rarely seen, accidental pictures trace the making of a family history coloured by the Partition.  

Fast Forward Collective’s Putting Ourselves in the Picture

All this forms Phase 1. 

Phase 2 is more crowded and moves outdoors with photographer Sunil Gupta’s retrospective, Love and Light, curated by Charan Singh, spread across the Government Museum, Egmore premises. Beside this, 20 photography projects by children curated by Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation and the Children’s Photography Archive, UK, will take over the Museum campus along with interactive installations. While Thiruvanmiyur MRTS will be a window into some of the rarely seen images of Tamil cinema’s on-set yesteryears acquired from photographer and archivist Lakshmikantan.

This time around, there was an open call that received 1,900 entries from 43 countries. As the biennale keeps growing, what does it mean to Chennai? The movement is palpable, feels Varun. “By virtue of being present and delivering such experiences, CPB has contributed to an art movement that is currently seen among young artists in the city today,” believes Varun.

Chennai Photo Biennale is organised in association with The Hindu Made of Chennai. Vanyerum Vizhuthugal is on display at VR Mall. It’s time. To see. To be seen is on display on First Floor, Lalit Kala Akademi. Phase 1 of CPB is ongoing, Phase 2 begins on January 17, 2025. Biennale closes on March 16, 2025. With inputs from Sangita Rajan and Sanjana Ganesh

From the series Zugvögel (migratory birds)