Title
India Song
Posted in
Photography, Book
Editor
Rosa Maria Falvo
Publisher
Skira Editore
Format
24 x 28 cm, 160 pages, 75 colour images, hardcover
ISBN
8857222356
More Info

Language: English
Year: 2014

Detailed Information
TitleIndia SongPosted inPhotography, BookEditorRosa Maria Falvo
PublisherSkira EditoreFormat24 x 28 cm, 160 pages, 75 colour images, hardcoverISBN8857222356
More Info

Language: English
Year: 2014

If you are an artist interested in how power and politics manifest through art and design, you’ll inevitably find yourself investigating India and its history at some point, just as London-based photographer Karen Knorr recently did. Well read, politically sensitive and a conceptual art-savvy photographer, Knorr has travelled across Northern India since 2008, photographing the interiors of the land’s opulent and colourful old palaces, temples and forts with a large format Sinar camera (in a way that inevitably reminds of Robert Polidori’s Versailles project and of course the oeuvre of Massimo Listri). What makes Knorr’s work stand out however, is the way in which she combines these awe-inspiring interiors — a persistent symbol of princely power and affluence — with the images of local animals, as if the world was turned on its head and the birds, mammals and reptiles of India have taken over. This polysemous and visually captivating body of work, bearing the evocative title India Song, was published last year as a large-format art book by Skira Editore, accompanied by insightful essays and an interview with the artist that elaborate on the concepts and issues behind the whole project.

Karen Knorr, The Courtyard Conference, Udai Vilas, Dungarpur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, The Courtyard Conference, Udai Vilas, Dungarpur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, Temple Servant, Amber Fort, Jaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, Temple Servant, Amber Fort, Jaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, Flight to Freedom, Junha Mahal, Dungarpur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, Flight to Freedom, Junha Mahal, Dungarpur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, The Maharaja’s Apartment, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, The Maharaja’s Apartment, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, The Joy of Ahimsa, Takhat Vilas, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, The Joy of Ahimsa, Takhat Vilas, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Knorr photographed both the interiors and the animals herself, which she then combined using Photoshop. Although these images could be read as humorous and fairytale-like, there is much more to think about once you scratch under their surface: through her India Song series, Knorr manages to link the imagery of the famously zoomorphic Ramayana culture of Northern India with current social and political issues, such as the allegories we use to represent gender, the domination of Man over nature, post-colonialism and the aesthetics of power. Conscious about allowing her images to remain ambiguous and open to interpretations, much like Aesop’s fables, there is a certain wisdom and a lesson to be learned in Knorr's seductive and mysterious images — a lesson about our relationship to one another and the world around us.

Karen Knorr, The Sound of Rain, Junagarh Fort, Bikaner. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, The Sound of Rain, Junagarh Fort, Bikaner. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, The Peacemaker, Chandra Mahal, Jaipur City Palace, Jaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, The Peacemaker, Chandra Mahal, Jaipur City Palace, Jaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, The Last Lion, Diwan-I-Khas, Jaipur City Palace, Jaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, The Last Lion, Diwan-I-Khas, Jaipur City Palace, Jaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, Parvati’s Consort, Samode Haveli, Jaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, Parvati’s Consort, Samode Haveli, Jaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, The Lifting of Purdah, Moti Mahal, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, The Lifting of Purdah, Moti Mahal, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, The Queen’s Room, Zanana Palace, Udaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, The Queen’s Room, Zanana Palace, Udaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, A Place Like Amravati, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, A Place Like Amravati, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur. From the book India Song © Skira Editore. Courtesy of the artist.

Karen Knorr, A Place Like Amravati, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur. On the cover of the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Karen Knorr, A Place Like Amravati, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur. On the cover of the book India Song © Skira Editore.

Photographer Karen Knorr Brings Indian Myths to Life

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