21 August 2014
(Press release is sent by Cultural Connections on behalf of the Hong Kong International Photo Festival.)
Indian Master Raghu Rai’s Exhibition
to Unveil the Hong Kong International Photo Festival 2014
Chance to See Multi-layered Photographs by renowned Master Capturing Diversity of India
The much looked-forward biennial festival and single most important event in the field of art photography in town, “Hong Kong International Photo Festival 2014” (HKIPF 2014) will be held from September to October 2014, and every edition of the Festival features works by masters. This year is no exception. While the 2012 edition’s “Reflection and Refraction Daido Moriyama” (2012) saw great success, this year’s Festival is bringing another master photographer to town – Raghu Rai. The exhibition “In Light of India: Photography by Raghu Rai” will unveil this year’s Festival.
Raghu Rai, when he was young, was nominated by world famous French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson to join Magnum Photos, a cooperative consisting of just around eighty top-notch photographers in the world, and Raghu Rai is one of the very few Asians among them. He was named, by the reputable documentary photography platform “Invisible Photographer Asia”, among the 20 Most Influential Asian Photographers, alongside Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki.
He has published over thirty books, including books on portrait photos of Indira Gandhi and Mother Teresa. His photo essays appear on international magazines such as Time, Life, New York Times, Newsweek, The Independent, etc. Raghu Rai has won numerous awards, and himself also a juror for World Press Photo and UNESCO’s International Photo Contest.
Raghu Rai loves his motherland, and all his works are taken in India, all over the country. Visually sumptuous and multi-layered, his works can truly reflect the diversity of the Indian society at the time. The Observer comments, “His images are famed for capturing both his country’s brutality and its beauty, often within a single frame.” It is amazing that his photographs can capture the complex emotions of human beings and even animals.
“A good photograph is that which combines mind, body and spirit. It’s a darshan in the most profound sense,” Raghu Rai once said. He applies the Indian philosophical concept darshan in photography, and curator Leon Suen, himself a veteran photojournalist, advises, “This exhibition attempts to present the multi-layer world view emphasised by Raghu Rai. Yet, to achieve darshan in the viewing, audience must first clear their mind and get involved.”
Curator Leon Suen has selected about 100 photographs from Raghu Rai’s huge volume of work, and they will be exhibited at ArtisTree, Taikoo Place from 29 August to 21 September. Raghu Rai will attend a dialogue with the curator on 30 August. All are welcome.
Notes to Editors
Press Tour
Date: 28 August, 2014 (Thur)
Time: 14:45 – 16:45
Venue: ArtisTree, Taikoo Place
Content: Curator Leon Suen introduces Raghu Rai’s works, group interview with Raghu Rai
(Interested press please contact Cultural Connections.)
In Light of India: Photography By Raghu Rai
“In Light of India: Photography by Raghu Rai” features 100 works by renowned Indian photographer and photojournalist Raghu Rai. Impressed by an exhibit of his work in Paris in 1971, Henri Cartier-Bresson nominated Rai to join Magnum Photos in 1977. By capturing a complex and multi-layer spectacle before the artist’s eyes, India was portrayed as a multi-layer and culturally diverse country. Rai’s works convey an awe-inspiring impression of “seeing a world in a grain of sand”.
Date: 29 August – 21 September, 2014
Venue: ArtisTree, Taikoo Place
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 20:00
Extended Event: Dialogue between Artist and Curator
Date: 30 August, 2014 (Sat)
Time: 14:00 – 16:00
Venue: ArtisTree, Taikoo Place
Speakers: Raghu Rai, Leon Suen
(First Come First Served)
Appendix One: Selected Photos
High Res Images: http://goo.gl/yc7SNM
Traffic at Chawri Bazar, Delhi, 1964
Mother Teresa in Her Prayer, Kolkata, 1995
Cow Enjoying Abandance of Wheat, Kandla Port, Gujarat, 2001
Appendix Two: About the Artist and Curator
Artist: Raghu Rai
Raghu Rai (born in December 1942) qualified as civil engineer, started photography at the age of 23 in 1965. He joined “The Statesman” newspaper as their chief photographer (1966 to 1976), and was then Picture Editor with Sunday—a weekly news magazine published from Calcutta (1977 to 1980).
In 1971, impressed by Rai’s exhibition at Gallery Delpire, Paris, the legendary photographer Henri Cartier Bresson nominated him to Magnum Photos, the world’s most prestigious photographer’s cooperative which Rai could start only in 1977.
Rai took over as Picture Editor-Visualiser-Photographer of “India Today”, India’s leading news magazine in its formative years. He worked on special issues and designs, contributing trailblazing picture essays on social, political and cultural themes of the decade (1982 to 1991) which became the talking point of the magazine.
He was awarded the ‘Padmashree’ in 1972, one of India’s important civilian awards ever given to a photographer for the body of works he produced on Bangladesh refugees, the war and the surrender. In 1992 he was awarded “Photographer of the Year” in the United States for the story “Human Management of Wildlife in India” published in “National Geographic”. In 2009 he was conferred Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
His photo essays have appeared in many of the world’s leading magazines and newspapers – including “Time”, “Life”, “GEO”, “Le Figaro”, “Le Monde”, “Die Welt”, “The New York Times”, “Sunday The Times-London”, “Newsweek”, “Vogue”, “GQ”, “D magazine”, “Marie Claire”, “The Independent” and the “New Yorker”. He has been an adjudicator for World Press Photo Contest, Amsterdam and UNESCO’s International Photo Contest for many times.
He has done extensive work on the photo documentation of 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy and its continuing effects on the lives of gas victims under a special assignment from Greenpeace International. This documentation was compiled into a book with 3 sets of exhibitions traveling in Europe, America, Australia, India and South East Asia from 2002 to 2005, which created greater awareness about the tragedy and bringing relief to many survivors.
A special exhibition and picture book was created on India and Mexico in year 2002 in which his work was published along with two renowned photographers Graciela Iturbide (Mexico) and Sebastiao Salagado (France). His works have been published in major books done by Magnum Photos including Exhibitions.
He is probably the only photographer who has produced more than 30 books on different aspects / life and themes on India. There are 4/5 books in the pipeline. Besides winning many national and international awards, Rai has exhibited his works around the world. His solo show has been held in many countries.
Raghu Rai lives in New Delhi with his family and continues to be an associate of Magnum Photos.
Curator: Leon Suen
Born in Hong Kong in 1956, Leon Suen Shu-kwan is a veteran photojournalist. He graduated from the Social Work Department of the Shue Yan College of Hong Kong, and obtained his master’s degree in Journalism from the Renmin University of China. He served two terms as chairman of the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association in 1993 and 1994. Suen played a key role in several major exhibitions, such as “In the Eyes of the Press” (1993) and “Hong Kong 24 Hours” (1994-1995). The former was a review of the works done by local news photographer from the late 60s to 90s, the latter invited the public to record the changes during the handover of Hong Kong to China by photography. Suen also curated “Photojournalism in Hong Kong: the Road of Development” (2000) with Oscar Ho Hing-kay. Suen was one of the judges of the 3rd China International Press Photo Contest in 2007. He now focuses on promoting and teaching photography. He is a co-founder of Lumenvisum, and part-time lecturer of Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Hong Kong Art School. Books and catalogues released to date include: Megafauna (2009), “In Search of Shangri-La” (2002), “In the Eyes of the Press” (1992), and “Cage” (1993). Major exhibitions include: “Hong Kong Photography Series 3: Beyond Portrait” (2012 Group Show), “Rediscovering Photography” (2011 Group Show, Ping Yao) “Megafauna” (2011 Group Show, Taipei), “Flare” (2011 Group Show), “Our Tai O” (2010 Solo Show), “Hong Kong Photography Series 2: City Flâneur” (2010 Group Show), “Hong Kong Photography 2010” (2010 Group Show, Toronto), and “Megafauna” (2009 Group Show). Suen’s works are collected by Hong Kong Heritage Museum and private collectors.