Holy Encounters Photography Exhibit

(Above) Photo by: Mark Morris

(Down)

Photo by: Ankush Vimawala. Digital Photography, 'Goat', India

Holy Encounters Photography Exhibit

Holy Encounters is the title of the photography exhibition that shows us an India that we don’t know at all. Ankush Vimawala and Mark Morris have two passions in common, one for India and another for photography.

From October to December, their works will be on display on an exhibit at the Mills International Center Gallery, in the Aperture Gallery and Buzz Café both in the EMU Building, at the University of Oregon. The opening reception will start at 6:30 pm on Friday Oct 23^rd. In addition, to the photography we will have the pleasure of enjoying Ankush’s band, Bindaas[1]. If you have not heard them before, this would be a great opportunity to do so. The reception will include light refreshments, music, and Art in the cozy environment of the Mills Center Gallery “living room”, located in the EMU above the post office. You will be nearly placed into a meditative trance by the Zen like atmosphere created by Bindaas and its musicians: Ankush Vimawala on Tabla and Jeremy Wegner on Sitar and Sarod. In addition, if you are a curious type of a person you may take advantage of the moment to appreciate the pictures and the wonderful people that will be gracing us with their presence at this event.

Ankush presents his careful craftsmanship in this exhibit. He spends much of his after-work time in the manufacturing of the frames and on final touches in the digital lab he spends much of his after-work time. The time he devotes to treat and find an aesthetic touch for each of his compositions gives us the clues to understand them. After seeing them, you may find yourself contemplating the “whys” of them. Why so much effort? What motivates him? And these are some questions that you might ask him in person when you arrive at the opening reception.

More than documentary pictures of his country, we may see a pictorial edition using Photoshop. More than meticulous regulated sharp shot we see the way he works with this technological range of colors and contrasts. His works translates the eclecticism of Indian culture, the colors, the chaos, which are alien to us, causing what art is meant to cause… reflection, uneasiness and a strange kind of pleasure.

Mark Morris was born in Eugene and works as with agronomy on Indian farms. He joined the gallery motivated by its philosophy (bringing culture for the local community and supporting local artists). His goal is to share his experience and stories in India through his photography and to connect with the Indian community in Eugene. Mark also became motivated by the idea of sending the money of the sold photography to an Indian family that he supports in..., India.

This is an opportunity to meet people who have a passion or a curiosity about India and art. It is like preparing the luggage for the next trip. Each person brings a new point of view, a different perspective. It is as if each individual were a piece of the world’s multicultural puzzle. I hope we will be able to build connections and understand that, above all, we are world citizens and that we are not only American, Brazilian or Indian, but Worldians. We are involved in a task that is fed by people’s energy and that keeps us searching for the other pieces of this puzzle.

This exhibit is part of a larger annual celebration that takes place in November. The International Education Week (IEW) is a national event dedicated to honor the cultural diversity of the world. The week brings people together and offers the country an opportunity to be really united. It uniting the States of America and promoting meetings like this one.

The Mills International Center will host a homage to India and to the new president of the University, Richard Lariviere[2] who has strong connections with the Indian culture.

The IEW at the University of Oregon has been built with the dedication of a diverse group of people with the intent to broaden frontiers and organize an event where the Indian community can share their culture, points-of-views as well as build the moment with local community interests about India.

This will be a week full of interesting things to that may currently lie outside our knowledge. Certainly, those who gather will take full advantage of the “encounter”. For those of us already involved in organizing the event, it has been an experience that will be with us for the rest of our lives.

At this point you might have asked yourself why “Holy Encounter”? To answer this question you will definitely need to visit the exhibit and find out why. Come make part of this Holy Encounter at the opening reception on Friday, October 23^rd, from 6:30- 7 pm at the Mills International Center Gallery Remember also the International Education Week on November 16^th to 20^th .

See you there!

I'd like to thanks Callie Wheeler for the review!

[1] http://www.myspace.com/bindaasmusic

[2] http://president.uoregon.edu/biography/

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