THE RED CARPET A FRUGAL PATH; AN EVIDENT STEP

Marlene Apmann’s images appear deceptively simple. Only on a deeper examination do they reveal levels of socio-cultural and political engagement and reverberation.

On first glance, the current series of Marlene’s photographs feature young girls in their teens or thereabout looking directly into the camera. They are generally decked up in colourful attire for the occasion of being photographed.  Their postures do not vary much, but it is the expression on their faces, which immediately draws attention. As important are the surroundings and backdrops in which they are situated: a public bus stand or railway station; a non-decrepit street; a wayside shop; a marriage hall; a temple tree; a street art mural; a local park; and so on.  And then comes the most unexpected twist to the tale: all the protagonists are standing on a red carpet!    

It is this act of subversion – placing a red carpet, traditionally used to sketch the path taken by VIPs on ceremonial occasions, in the most ordinary of situations - that brings a sense of mystery and intrigue to Marlene’s images. In her pictures, it is not the VIP but a commoner who is taking Centre stage.  The focus of camera lens never wavers from this ‘honoured individual’ drawn from diverse echelons of society; and depicted with beautiful stark austerity.

Uniquely combining elements of street photography, documentary, portraiture and other genres, her series is formed and informed by her own brand of ‘straight photography’ in which the protagonists - silently but staunchly gazing at her lens - reveal as much as they hide facets of personal identities.  Their striking presence and postures highlighted by the intrusion of the red carpet expose the borders between the real and the fantastic; familiar and the unknown; clear and the contradictory.  In Marlene’s art, the ‘symbolic’ carpet becomes at the same time a venue, a battleground, and a surreal edifice set in a locale where the logical merges seamlessly with the ludicrous.

GIRIDHAR KHASNIS
Art Critic and Curator
November 2017

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G A L L E R Y M A N O R A, a newly conceptualized fine arts destination in Bengaluru, is an intimate, architect-designed exhibition space.

The gallery’s past exhibitions have included GONDWANA HORIZON by celebrated Australian ceramic artist Barbara Campbell-Allen; REVISITED featuring doctor-turned-artist Dr. Seemanthini Desai and Australian Ceramic Sculptor Feyona van Stom; A MOMENT IN TIME a photography exhibition by Prasant Godbole, Abhishek Dasgupta, Subrata Biswas, and Pallon Dharuwala, curated by Writer and Art Critic Giridhar Khasnis; FLOW & FRENZY Solo Exhibition of Abstract Paintings by Susmit Biswas. With its vision to stimulate a strong sense of art aesthetic as well as rich global cross-cultural conversations, Gallery Manora will continue to host contemporary art exhibitions, artists’ talks and residencies featuring talented Indian and International artists.

Marlene Apmann CV

Marlene Apmann studied Science of Pedagogy and Art in Aachen.

film and photography in Berlin and Bremen.

She worked as a filmmaker, created film essays about contemporary art for broadcast stations like SR, SDR and Arte.

1992 she received the “Journalist Prize“ of the German National Committee for Monument Conservation.

From 1993 - 1995 she lived at Seattle, USA.

She taught art at schools and at the art academy in Saarbrücken.

Her films were presented in Art Museums i.a. in Düsseldorf and Emden, Germany and in Vancouver, Canada.

The photographic work has been presented in multiple exhibitions and

photo installations in urban public spaces in Germany and Sweden.

2012 she finished a major photo work in the subject of enhancement of the environment.

The photo project was about waste recycling at the Island of Helgoland, Germany.

It was nominated for the “Art and Environment prize“ and shown in Güstrow, Germany.

Since 2013 Marlene Apmann lives in Bangalore,India, where she works on her photo projects.

One of her main subjects is concerning women in India. She has always been interested in gender questions and topics of equal rights and did several projects in film and photography.

In her latest project she reflects on the future/ life chances of girls and young women in India.

 

Latest  photo exhibitions:

March 2017, “ Love comes later” Art Corridor Taj West End, Bangalore

Opening event together with writer Anita Nair.

December 2017, “The Red Carpet“, Gallery Manora, Bangalore.

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A Solo Exhibition of Photography

By Marlene Apmann