ALEJANDRO GÓMEZ DE TUDDOIRMA APONTE ACOSTAUROBOROS-BASILISCO

PHOTOGRAPHYPRODUCTION

EDITING

INDIA5050

UROBOROS-BASILISCO

POSSIBLE OR IMPOSSIBLE ?

This book ’s epigraph, by Baba Ram Das , s tates: “ In India , ever y thing is possible or impossible”, and this paradox can be cor roborated by anyone look ing through i t s pages .

Quite far from any s tereotypes which one could always expec t to f ind in a photography book about India , in this book we shal l not see the Taj Mahal , the ghats of Varanasi , nor the f i l igree of Ja ipur ’s Palace of the Winds . We have seen al l these much too of ten, and perhaps this is what Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo fel t as he set about to travel through India to take these photographs .

Ever y thing is impossible and possible in India . The f ir s t photo seems impossible . I t would resemble a chorus in a Greek tragedy in one of Cocayannis’ f i lms , or a s ty l ized negat ive pr int of the s tupas at Ladakh. Could the reader perhaps come to bel ieve these f igures are penguins? Possible are many other photographs whose scenar ios are no dif ferent from what can be found in any popular quar ter in Mexico City or in Honduras or Bol iv ia . I t is the India which perhaps ever y traveler sees , wi thout noticing i t , s ince i t has a rather discreet luster, and not the br ight reds , greens and golds he or she would expec t to f ind .

Impossible , once again? At leas t unusual are the images of a dove which stands free, next to other birds conf ined within a steel spiral s truc ture , in a Ja in hospi ta l for birds; the phantasmagor ical super imposi t ion of a Chr is t hanging from a broken glass ; the planet Ear th s ink ing ; Superman, jus t around the corner. There are headless gods and maker s of gods: the outs tanding sculptor s and ar t isans of Kumor tul i , in Kolkata (Calcut ta), where ever y year, in preparat ion of the fes t iv i t ies in honor of the Goddess , they create , wi th incredible per fec t ion, the ephemeral div ini t ies which wil l be displayed through the s treets of the ci ty dur ing jus t a few days; but

IN SEARCH OF THE INEFFABLE

The photographs of India 50/50 were taken from dif ferent angles and in var ious locations, but they seem similar because they descr ibe today’s wor ld in its entire complexity. They nur ture interpretations that are open to i l lusions, del iberately connecting real ity and intuit ive perception. Cer tainly, Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo deals with t ime structures in order to design an entanglement of a present t ime which has already become the past : t ime that evokes so many f leeting truths and genuine weaknesses.

Though ir reconci lable with themselves, these photographs are able to transmit common l i fe occurrences ful l of boundless int imate and col lective discover ies. Such a strong desire to evoke the present is valued greatly by Gómez de Tuddo, who therefore gives us l imit less freedom for dreaming of what no longer is , proving that concerns related to l inear t ime barely affect human memor y. He then invites us to go In Search of Lost Time or the ineffable .

Each image , with al l i ts symbolism, appear s isolated, thus fragmenting the general understanding that it symbolizes and expresses individual ly. Such a profusion of symbols that inter twine and baff le cannot but par t ial ly divulge the ineffable: the self . Myster y emanates from these pictures: that of the emotional l i fe through temporal and dimensional spaces. . .

Fewzia Bedjaui

Univer sity of Sidi Bel Abbes, Alger ia

what we can see here is the prac t ical ly impossible angle of a sculptor ref lec ted in a minute mir ror in front of a mighty div ine thigh , or another sculptor, who looks obl iquely at the unl ikely head of the god Kar t ikeya wear ing a newspaper turban, and with a hor r i f ied look . Or is he to be , maybe, one of the demons which the Goddess wil l ex terminate?

There are s ignals which cr iss-cross from one photograph to another l ike subtle thematic threads which may lay out a clue for an interpretat ion of this qui te unusual v is ion of India . Assemblies of birds on huge bi l lboards; a Maya vei l in a wedding scenar io: a landscape ful l of br idges and woods , which cover s a perhaps prosaic background; as well as a f isherman’s net which f i l ter s the per spec t ive of a boat surely many t imes bigger. . .

E lsa Cross

Univer sidad Autónoma de México

SNOW SPLASH, Island Grounds, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 13°04’21”N 80°16’48”E

SHIRT, Asi Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 25°17’19”N 83°00’24”E

CHARITY BIRDS’ HOSPITAL ROOF TOP METALLIC STRUCTURE, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh 28°39’20”N 77°14’96”E

SHADOW, Tulsi Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 25°17’00”N 83°00’23”E

CHINESE FISHING NET, Thopumpady Port, Kochi, Kerala 09°57’16”N 76°16’41”E

SX4 BILLBOARD, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh 28°38’07”N 77°13’29”E

BEHEADED STATUE, Bangalore-Mangalore Road, Karnataka 12°58’29”N 76°16’56”E

WEDDING STAGE, Karwar, Karnataka 14°49’18”N 74°10’54”E

MONSOON, Indore-Bhopal Road, Madhya Pradesh 23°03’00”N 76°46’10”E

HANGING BIRD, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh 32°12’43”N 76°19’32”E

CLOTHES-LINE, Narad Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 25°18’00”N 83°00’27”E

JESUS CHRIST COLUMN, Commonwealth War Graves outskirts, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 13°06’57”N 80°10’59”E

JUMBO CIRCUS, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 27°10’11”N 78°00’16”E

METALLIC STRUCTURE, Calangute, Goa 15°33’06”N 73°45’16”E

SHREE JAGAJYOTH BASAVESHWA STATUE’S HEAD, Bhishma Lake, Gadag, Karnataka 15°25’14”N 75°37’42”E

FURNITURE CEMETERY, Ghaziabad, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh 28°38’22”N 77°25’23”E

SKY PARK BILLBOARD, Belgaum, Karnataka 15°50’56”N 74°30’31”E

TARAPOREWALA AQUARIUM, Mumbai, Maharashtra 18°56’57”N 72°49’11”E

RESIDENTIAL AREA, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 23°00’20”N 72°33’19”E

SCIENCE CITY, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 23°04’48”N 72°29’46”E

THEIR HOLINESS GYALWANG DRUKPA & STANGTSANG RASPA, Srinagar-Leh Road 34°15’07”N 77°06’13”E

MOONRISE, Mumbai-Pune Road, Maharashtra 18°31’10”N 73°51’19”E

TOWN FAIR, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 23°04’12”N 72°32’16”E

DUCKS’ SHEPHERD, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu 11°55’19”N 79°48’48”E

RUSH HOUR, Bangalore, Karnataka 12°57’56”N 77°30’44”E

SUPERMAN, Vihara Marga, Mysore, Karnataka 12°18’08”N 76°40’41”E

TEA PLANTATION, Idukki, Kerala 09°34’25”N 76°59’45”E

VITTHALA TEMPLE ROAD, Hampi, Karnataka 12°57’15”N 77°33’24”E

ROOM 12,Temple Hotel, Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh 22°14’40”N 76°08’48”N

NEELAM MOVIE THEATRE -by Le Corbusier-,Chandigarh, Haryana-Punjab 30°44’22”N 76°46’50”E

PALACE OF ASSEMBLY -by Le Corbusier-, Chandigarh, Haryana-Punjab 30°44’16”N 76°47’04”E

BRAHMIN’S HOUSE, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu 11°24’97”N 79°41’35”E

NAVARATRI’S IDOLS WORKSHOP POTTER, Kumurtuli, Kolkota, West Bengal 22°33’00”N 88°21’10”E

MAN WITH CLAY MASK, Bow Bazar, Kolkota, West Bengal 22°34’11”N 88°21’40”E

DURGA PUJA PANDAL, Kolkota, West Bengal 22°34’55”N 88°22’20”E

GURDIAL SINGH -Head Operator of Neelam Movie Theatre-, Chandigarh, Haryana-Punjab 30°44’22”N 76°46’50”E

THE GROOM, Bangalore-Mysore Road, Karnataka 12°28’39”N 76°45’59”E

CHOWPATTY BEACH, Mumbai, Maharashtra 18°57’15”N 72°48’45”E

SADHU, Kangar, Maharashtra 19°25’48”N 74°33’46”E

STUPAS, Leh, Ladakh-Jammu 34°10’15”N 77°33’00”E

MAN ON ROOF TOP, Brahmapur, Odisha 19°18’58”N 84°48’42”E

BUS STATION, Udaipur, Rajasthan 24°34’34”N 73°42’03”E

MRS. CHANDRAKANTA, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan 26°17’47”N 73°01’55”E

ARAVAN’S BRIDES, Koovagam, Tamil Nadu 11°48’44”N 79°20’46”E

ASSYLUM, Adpur-Palitana Road, Gujarat 21°31’09”N 71°48’37”E

MADEMOISELLE O’MURPHY’S ROOM, Kochi, Kerala 09°57’47”N 76°14’22”E

TRANSGENDER, Zoo Playground, Mysore, Karnataka 12°18’07”N 76°39’54”E

THE BRAHMIN’S SON, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu 11°24’97”N 79°41’35”E

FRIENDS, Calangute Beach, Goa 15°33’07”N 73°45’10”E

GANESH CHATURTHI, Narmada River, Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh 22°10’07”N 75°35’12”E

CREMATION, Ulvar Karai Cemetery, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu 11°54’49”N 79°48’52”E

50/50 MURAL PAINTING, Shravanabelgola, Karnataka 12°51’26”N 76°29’14”E

INDIA5050

50 photographs in 50 days: one per day

SNOW SPLASH, Island Grounds, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

SHIRT, Asi Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

CHARITY BIRDS’ HOSPITAL ROOF TOP METALLIC STRUCTURE, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh

NAVARATRI’S IDOLS WORKSHOP POTTER, Kumurtuli, Kolkota, West Bengal

MAN WITH CLAY MASK, Bow Bazar, Kolkota, West Bengal

DURGA PUJA PANDAL, Kolkota, West Bengal

THE TRANSIENCE OF ETERNITY

Photography is the art of storytelling without words. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo does not just take a photo with his eyes; he takes it with his experiences, emotions and heart. The experience of India, the experience of being in India, and the experience of being in India as a photographer are so many moments he invites us to share. In journeying along Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo’s photographs, we discover his journey to India and his way of looking at the world.

This kaleidoscope of visual processes is such that when we look at each of his images, it is not the actual photo that we see, for the photograph itself is rendered invisible. We see something unclassifiable: it resists language, as it is without signs or marks — we see something which simply is, illustrating that in India and in these photographs, everything is impossible or possible.

Everything is impossible or possible, because each image formulates a new non-semiotic discourse of photography — an original framework in which photography steps beyond the shackles of classification. These photos are about India and not about India. These photos transcend the normal boundaries of the everyday by moving the activity of viewing from a transparent relationship of meaning and expression to a level in which meaning seems to be there without the presence of subjectivity. It is as if these photographs bring out the unconscious. They also represent the unconscious, while at the same time, denying all of these relations of meaning. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo allows for the sight of self, not as a mirror but as an access point into a definition of identity — identity associated with consciousness, thus housing a whole; for it is thanks to the photgrapher that being coincides with self, to borrow from Camera Lucida.

Still Journeys

There are 50 worlds to be seen. There are 50 photographs. 50, in symbolic numerology stands for the totality of mankind. 50 is the number which enables spiritual ascension through intuition. As such, 50 is the number of all enlightenments. Through the 50 photographs which Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo offers in this

book, we are offered many journeys: journeys towards the photographer, towards photography and towards India.

These 50 journeys are also voyages towards a revelation, inasmuch as the miracle of Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo’s photographs, of their so-called objective images, to borrow from Baudrillard, is that they reveal a radically non-objective world. The artist generates a paradox insofar as the lack of objectivity of the world is disclosed by the photographic lens, l’objectif, as the Charity Bird’s Hospital Roof Top Metallic Structure photograph shows. In order to reach this non-objectivity, the photographer invites us to go along his journey.

India. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo does not take us to India, he takes us beyond India, getting us to embark on a voyage away from Kerala, which stays behind the Chinese Fishing Net. His technique of photography takes us beyond the replica, almost into the domain of the trompe l’oeil, as with Wedding Stage or Residential Area. Furthermore, through their unrealistic play of visual techniques, their slicing of reality, their immobility, their silence, and their phenomenological reduction of movements, many of the photos, such as Furniture Cemetery, affirm themselves as both the purest and the most artificial expositions of the image of India we watch, but cannot see.

Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo’s technique becomes an opportunity for a double play and generates a discourse on the open relationship between the photographer’s technique and the object/subject photographed: for instance, Their Holiness Gyalwang Drupka & Stangtsang Raspa amplifies the concept of illusion and the visual forms. A complicity between the technical device and the world is thus established, the power of object/subject and of “objective” techniques converges, and a new India is generated. Alejandro Gómez de Tuddo’s photographic act consists of entering this space of intimate complicity, not to master it, but to play along with it and to demonstrate that nothing has been decided yet, as Sky Park Billboard shows...

Jean Philippe Imbert

Dublin City University

Previous page: CREMATION, Ulavar Krai Cemetery, Pondicherrry, Tamil Nadu

DURGA PUJA PANDAL, Kolkota, West Bengal

Printing of INDIA 50/50 was finished during the month of October 2014 in Italy. Supervision and care of edition was carried out by UROBOROS-BASILISCO Art Press.Typography: Gill Sans. designed by Eric Gill.Book formation: Mónica Arguelles Zarebski. This edition includes 1000 copies (700 in spanish and 300 in english).

50/50 MURAL PAINTING, Shravanabelgola, Karnataka