Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Diwan Manna- blog for past week, oct 12-16

This is an artist I just stumbled upon while looking for new artist, that I've not been informed about before. His work is ... different. It makes me tilt my head slightly while examining it, as though that will help decide what it is. For this reason.. I've decided he was well worth writing about. One thing I also admire about him is that his work is diverse. There are several different series that can be accessed from his website, http://www.diwanmanna.com , and they all have a distinct feel.

The next set of images are from the series Shores of the Unknown. I liked this body of work because it gives the viewer a confused look at human figures. Some photos appear to be washed up bodies, others seem as though they are coming from the womb, and still others, come across as lifeless bodies on display for someone's sick interest. Though they all differ, they still remain consistent to work in a series together.


This image is one of the image that makes me think of a human being born. This is much more disturbing than a birth however.. It looks like an adult form, not a child. It appears to be pinned down to the floor being contained instead of being released from the womb. The distinct hand with nails is also uncomfortable to view because nails do not grow as fast in the womb. Reassuring the informed viewer that this is not a good image. It's not a pleasant one anyway...

This image makes me think sci-fi. I see the textures and colors and I instantly think of an alien abduction. The orange of the floor with the lumped ground, makes me think of a planets ground. The color of the human form, being such a radiant green, makes me think that perhaps the atmosphere has changed normal colors or perhaps this is the view from the alien. What his colors look like. The obvious chords and pins tacking the form to the ground is hostile and definitely not the treatment from a humanitarian.
This is one of the images that gives me the impression these are lifeless forms on display for someone's morbid pleasure. The objects seem relaxed, but lifeless. Like their souls passed from their bodies peacefully, and they were preserved like art. The sheets draping over them give a look of preservation and completion of life. Really disturbing image to view, especially since one of the forms is a child. Seeing a child lifeless is always the hardest to view. In addition, the child looks ... pleasing, even dead.

The next series of work is called Alienation. I only choose one photo from this series, for the pure fact that the others wouldn't upload. I'd encourage whoever is reading this, to go look at the rest of this series to see how the images in this one series differ so much, but still portray alienation.

This image is a classic reference to Adam and Eve. This is a different portrayal however, and it is easy on the eyes. This image being linked to the title alienation of the series gives it multiple meanings that may not have been there without the name.

This series is from a foreign country and the background is that they take photos with their desires in order to preserve the happiness of having what they could not.. Moving really.. And comical at the same time.

This next body is more documentary and in my opinion is some of his strongest work.It could be because humanitarian documentary is what I am most interested in.. But the faces, the composition, the hope and hopelessness captured is beautiful.

This photo is so wonderful because of the contrast of the people in the streets and the ones in the high gloss fashion advertisement above them.

1 comment:

  1. Wow... a nice find. A new one for me. I am struck by his versatility. Working in a documentary mode versus more of a haptic / painterly fashion are very different...hard to do both well. Yet looking more closely, many of the docu images are very well organized, in almost a painterly way... in the last image, the duality between the people in the foreground against the advertisement above is very strong. Perhaps amplified graphically by the tension between them across the flat picture plane.

    You continue to write in a very thoughtful and perceptive fashion...keep up the good work

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