Black and White Photography | "Ashok Viswanathan" Theyyam | Photographer Platform

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
Every photographer has a unique way of seeing the world.
Every story deserves to be seen.

In Ashok Viswanathan's own words:
As an Indian photographer with over five decades of work spanning people, urban landscapes, culture , and travel.

My recent retrospective at Gallery 1885 London (which was celebrating their 140th year) brought together my work from the 1970s to the present, offering a rare visual chronicle of five decades of photography through an artist’s lens. Additionally I have been a contributor to prestigious journals of the Royal Photographic Society uk, Photographic Society of America, LensWork magazine, Lens magazine,French Foto, Fuji X Passion magazine and others.

I am now retired and been passionate about photography for over 50 years. My interest has enabled me to travel the world taking pictures as also meeting others with similar interest. My work spans travel, culture, landscape and portraiture. An award-winning exhibitor, working in both digital and film, and also explores alternative processes including Cyanotypes, Bromoil and Van Dyke printing.

Theyyam, North Kerala’s ancient temple dance, is a mesmerising fusion of ritual, theatre, and divinity. Held from December to April in remote village shrines, it transforms temple courtyards into sacred arenas where performers, adorned in vivid body paint and towering headdresses, embody deities. By the flicker of an oil lamp, they dance through the night, their movements echoing centuries-old myths, accompanied by haunting wind instruments. With over 400 unique forms, Theyyam is a raw, immersive spectacle—where the line between human and divine dissolves. But with few left to carry it forward, this sacred tradition faces an uncertain future.

Discover more of Ashok Viswanathan:


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