“The Solemn Look of Freedom” Mr. Madasamy had lost everything. After being falsely imprisoned for life for rape and murder, his wife left him and their 5 children in the care of his father, because the shame she felt from the ordeal. KR Raja, through his GNE project, was able to find a pro bono attorney, and raise the appeal fees which allowed Mr. Madasamy his freedom after 3 years of incarceration. Mr. Madasamy had a pet parrot perched on his hand when we meet. My first thought was if his bird was kept in a cage. When he showed me the bird’s cage, I found the perfect place to make his portrait. GNE Project, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu
My most recent adventure brought me to India, and marked my seventy-first country. From early May through August, I’ve backpaked through Southern India, gathering inspiration for chairty project: «art braille kanthari». For this trip, I’ve teamed up with «kanthari», a charitable organization that empowers social visionaries around the world (www.kanthari.ch). My trek started at the kanthari campus in Trivandrum, India, were I got to meet the founders of kanthari and spend a week watching and photographing the new students begin their 7 month training program…
Dreams to Reality
From Trivandrum, I’ve zigzagged from coast to coast, visiting projects founded by past kanthari graduates. This allowed me to get a first hand look at how the kanthari alumni have taken their dreams and parlayed them with their training and experience to help their communities in a variety of interesting and innovative ways.
The back stories of all the lots that were sold at charity auction, as well as the photos are here.
«art braille kanthari»
«kanthari’s scholarship based leadership program is for visionaries who have overcome adversity and are keen to drive ethical social change around the world. some of these students are blind and some have disabilities, while others have no disabilities at all.» In this spirit, I’ve envisioned «art braille kanthari» to be accessible in some form by all, including the blind.
Obviously, visual arts cannot not be viewed by the blind, so it was my idea to create an art experience for all, regardless of any disabilities someone might have. To do so, I’ve attempted to bridge this gap by appealing to more senses than sight alone: through sound, poetic description and braille, so that all can experience my journey through India while learning more about kanthari.
Auction Catalog, Invitation Book & Photos
- Charity Auction Catalog (English, 1.5 MB, PDF)
- Exhibition Invitation Booklet EN (English, 1.85 MB, PDF)
- Ausstellung Einladung DE (Deutsch, 1.85 MB, PDF)
- Exhibition Photos
Videos from the Kanthari India Trip
Videos from my 3 month trip to India:
1 Comment
What you’re doing is really amazing! I’d love to travel like this on day.