Life within boundaries is hard and painful, no matter how sophisticated and safe it is. I always wonder why schools, offices and sometimes even a home is felt so stressful and pressurised, because, it confines us within boundaries with specific regulations.
Imagine, how this would emotionally affect an animal or bird being caged in a Zoo. They are fed, medicated and well taken care off by professionals but still they suffer, suffer from not being free. Life in Zoo is tough and challenging. Zoo visit has always been a guilt experience for me. During all my visits, I always feel a great sense of sorrow from animals irrespective of their size or habitat. I sensed them feeling lonely, bored, lazy, frightened and lost. I have also noticed how some of the gigantic animals have squeezed themselves within narrow spaces. I have painfully witnessed Cheetah and Zebras those never run, restless Jaguar juggling within a glass fenced cage in a single tree. Lions and Tigers sitting or yawning with absolutely nothing to do except waiting for next meal time. Thousands of people visit and enjoy the Zoo everyday around the world without realising how cruel it is to be in a cage or confined within boundaries. In my opinion, Zoo is yet another example of human exploitation and selfishness imposed on wild life. The objective of this body of work is to capture and depict the melancholy of these wonderful animals those are unfortunately destined to live in a Zoo. Some of these animals pictured in this project are no longer alive now and their offspring have never seen a forest, freedom and most probably never will.
About Ravikumar Jambunathan
I born in India and presently living in Singapore. I am a computer science graduate and currently working with a Bank. I am a self taught photographer and have a great passion towards photography. I love travelling. I purely work in Black and White medium. The reason I chose to work in black and white because, without colour what remains is the subject itself in its purest form which stimulates contemplation. To me, Photography is an excellent medium of self expression and communication. I strongly believe that, a great photograph is a true piece of document where a moment is captured with time and light. My images are my self-expression and I am glad to present them for your contemplation.
