Bharat Mata (Mother India) is a wandering between places suspended in time. It’s a story through poetic images, free from any descriptive intent.
It’s a kaleidoscope of memories and sensations that tries to stimulate the curiosity of the observer towards a reality among the most elusive and indecipherable on the planet, especially in the eyes of the West.
According to the author, there is no single India, but probably a thousand or even more; just like thousands are the deities that crowd the Hindu pantheon and thousands the faithful making pilgrimage.Thousands are the tribes and ethnic groups present on the territory. Thousands are the temples and ruins of ancient kingdoms.There is a multitude of faces and facets in the districts of Delhi where places come to life with teeming spices markets and flower markets.
India, like many other countries, has been experiencing profound social changes. It is difficult to predict what will be the result of this slow and inexorable metamorphosis … However, in spite of everythingh, “Mother India” seems to be able to preserve its history and its culture, at least until today. Everything appears eternal and immutable, just like the city of Benares (also known as Varanasi), according to many as ancient as Babylon. “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend,” wrote Mark Twain when he reached this place in 1896. The city is considered the most sacred in the country because it is bathed by the holy Ganges River (also known as Ganga), which for the Indians “is the spirit, it is God … it is the most important divinity of India”.
India is all of this and much more. It is impossible to put order in this ocean. It is better to be led by his flow, as the photographs Giancarlo Zuccarone seem to suggest, where every meeting with people and their everyday life remains crystallized over time, forever.
Bharat Mata was inspired by Raghubir Singh and Raghu Rai’s work.The idea of creating a long-term photographic project was born in 2012 and took shape over the following years during several trips, during which the photographer Giancarlo Zuccarone developed a deep and unique relationship with this country. According to the author himself, we can speak about this relationship as “a real love story”: on the one hand, a look enchanted by this magical and millennial land; on the other, a country that offers itself generously giving meetings and moments hidden behind every corner. The images presented here were all made in the north of the country and represent the first part of the complete work that will be divided into chapters, each of which is related to the aspects of daily life and the culture of the Indian people. [Official Website]
