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Beyond the lens: Unveiling photography’s spiritual realm

Diwan Manna is India’s pioneering, genre-breaking conceptual photographer whose camera becomes a metaphysical portal that sees beyond the veil of mundane reality.

by Vedant Chopra
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Diwan Manna in ‘Shores of the Unknown’ series, acting within a scene to transcend and transform the visual narrative.

In creative photography, the camera is not just a random tool to document what is out there. A sensitive photographer dreams of portraying individual lives, emotions, and time in a single frame. Juxtaposed with the physical world, he aims to capture the human experience, looking deep into the soul.

Diwan Manna is India’s pioneering, genre-breaking conceptual photographer. For him, a photographer’s eye is not just a physical organ but a metaphysical portal that sees beyond the veil of mundane reality into the realm of uncertainties. More startlingly, the subject-object dichotomy disappears as his multimedia works tend to narrate his impressions and experiences of the world in and around him.

Diwan Manna’s ‘Wheels of Time’ series, inspired by his visit to Europe in 1993, exploring nostalgia and human connection.
Diwan Manna’s ‘Wheel of Time’ series was inspired by his first visit to Europe in 1993.

Manna walks the thin line between surrealism and spirituality. An art movement celebrating the subconscious finds a natural ally in conceptual photography. He does not mind rearranging reality and presenting a frozen moment that allows us to tap into the surreal, the apparently known and yet mystical. His images are gateways to understanding ourselves and moving forward with it.

A monochromatic image from Diwan Manna’s ‘Alienation’ series, capturing the lives of PGI hospital peons in Chandigarh.
In the “Alienation’ series, Diwan Manna captured the life of isolation and servitude of
the office peons working in the Government College of Art, Chandigarh in India.

Manna would agree with Ansel Adams, an American landscape photographer and environmentalist, who said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” The statement underscores the idea that photography is not just aim-and-shoot but a creative way to express yourself unapologetically. A photographer is not just a passive observer but an active participant in the multi-dimensional, many-splendored life. A photographer like Manna takes notes, and materializes things and scenes, whimsically expressing his vision, forcing you to pause, take it all in, find value, and learn something viscerally. It does sound a little cryptic, but you’ll grasp it the more you dive in and learn.

In this short journey of photographic discovery, we begin to realize that the camera is not just a box but a fun mirror that reflects our soul. The images we capture are not just representations of the world but reflections of our inner selves.

In this sense, it becomes a form of meditation, a way of connecting with our inner selves. As we gaze through Manna’s lens, we are not just seeing the world; we are seeing ourselves. We see our fears, desires, hopes, and dreams in our own ways. The camera becomes confessional, a way of revealing ourselves. It’s easy to type, but hey, a cup of coffee while being with yourself for a while won’t harm anyone.

A vibrant photograph from the Banaras series by Diwan Manna, showcasing his bold use of colors in recent works.
His first photographs were black-and-white, but recent works, such as the Banaras series, are. in contrast, a riot of color.

In a journey of self-discovery, we need time to think out of the lives we are stuck in. Photography can be a natural ally to help you understand what stands between you and what your heart’s desire is — and what lies beyond. As we embark on this journey, we begin to realize that the camera can become a medium for you to understand how to appreciate, acknowledge, and move ahead to a better self. Another way to grow that is.

Diwan Manna: Photography, painting, acting & body arts unbound

Portrait of Diwan Manna by legendary photographer Raghu Rai, illustrating the artist’s contemplative personality.

Diwan Manna, an Indian artist based in Chandigarh, is known for his soulful images. He is one of the first exponents of conceptual photography in India. A Diwan Manna artwork raises questions about itself and what it represents. He combines images with objects, moving within a consciously chosen space to create a multimedia reality. Coming from a background in painting and theater, his work depicts the possibility of crossing boundaries between photography, painting, acting, and the body arts.

Most of his work is about his journey to come to terms with the insidious and unrecognized forms of degradation of our sense of life and honor. He is not merely interested in presenting images of the destruction of human goodness, courage, and beauty but tries to tap the unsuspected and unrealized sources of tenderness, fortitude, and humanity in us.

He shows us many aspects of his work in successive phases. The black-and-white of his first photographs and the fiery contrasts of colors in his more recent work are only metaphors for the eternal combat that men engage in to reach the light. Some significant images that come to the mind of a serious art connoisseur are from the series ‘Shores of the Unknown’, ‘After the Turmoil’, ‘Alienation’, and ‘Violence’.

Fifteen of his works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Asian Art, Berlin; the Government Museum & Art Gallery, Chandigarh; the Fine Arts Museum, Panjab University, Chandigarh; Deutsche Bank and other institutions and private collections in India and abroad. He has been exhibiting his work since 1996 in prestigious museums and galleries in France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, and India.

Manna has received many prestigious awards and honors including the National Academy Award from the National Lalit Kala Akademi, the 19th Biennial Convention of Federation of Indian Photography, 1998, and State Lalit Kala Academy, Punjab, 1996. He served as President of the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi from 2016-2024. Earlier he served as Chairman of Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, and Director of Triennale India.

Diwan Manna was in the USA last month, where he met ALotusInTheMud editor, Parveen Chopra.  

Portrait of Diwan Manna by legendary photographer Raghu Rai, illustrating the artist’s contemplative personality. 

You can savor Diwan Manna’s art at: www.diwanmanna.com/

 

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