About Book
An intriguing visual essay of 1,008 subjects clandestinely photographed from behind, sitting or squatting along the Ghats of Varanasi (Banaras). By avoiding the metaphysics of the face and also the politics of caste and religion, Burrows has created a gallery of images that is object-oriented and onto-phenomenological. Its a wryly odd subject choice and the styling itself is unusual in that, while obliquely containing elements of both, this is not portrait photography nor is it photography of place. Some of these 'torsos' could be piles of rugs bundled up and left on the ghat. Others amuse by seeming to perch object-like on a step. In his focus on the non-traditional object of the gaze - the back instead of the face - the artist is engaging with India cross culturally through the absurdist perspective of early 20th century Europe, From Beckett through Jarry and Artaud, to Deleuze and Guattari, there's a history of subverting the face in order to privilege the torso or trunk.
About Author
Terry Burrows is an Australian artist who has been exploring an interest in the activities along the Ghats of Varanasi since 2005. Amongst other works completed in this quest are: A series of paintings titled Ghat by Ghat, and a video work titled Ganga Dancing. These works, along with the publication of The Banaras Back Book and an associated exhibition of prints, either have been, or are scheduled to be featured in exhibitions at a range of institutions including the Kriti Gallery in Varanasi, the Rabindranath Tagore Centre in Calcutta, the Lalit Kala Academi in Delhi, the Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) in Sydney, and Parramasala, an International Festival celebrating the global reach of South Asian arts and cultures.