Vasantha Yogananthan, 2015
'Lovebird', Ramtek, Maharashtra, India, 2015
Created by Vasantha Yogananthan in 2015. The artwork is a archival inkjet print on Canson Print Making Rag 310gsm and displayed at 81 x 65.5 cm.
A frame within a frame, within yet another frame: the bird in this image is not only imprisoned within a cage, but also within the white field of the sheet, which is in turn enclosed by the photo itself. The light background creates a clear contrast between the bars of the cage and the sheet, and as a result, the cage and the bird almost seem to separate from the image. At the same time, the sheet on the clothesline almost precisely mirrors the dimensions of the image, enhancing the aesthetic. Lovebird is part of The Promise, the second chapter in the series A Myth of Two Souls, in which artist Vasantha Yogananthan creates a contemporary interpretation of the ancient epic of Ramanaya. The second chapter celebrates the love between the two protagonists, prince Rama and princess Sita. Knowing this, the image takes on a melancholic mood: what exactly is Yogananthan suggesting with the title “lovebird”, when the bird is trapped in a cage? It is this suggestive quality in the image that gives it its poetic character.
© Vasantha Yogananthan, courtesy of the Foam Collection