Rajesh Vora: Eyes on the Roof
The playful, enigmatic architecture of private houses in rural Punjab caught photographer Rajesh Vora's attention, and is now on view at Les Rencontres de la Photographie festival in Arles.
From the roofs of Punjab’s rural houses, crafted monuments of airplanes, cars, battle tanks, statues of football players or weightlifters stand out against the landscape of an otherwise modest countryside. Homeowners are long-gone Indian citizens who moved abroad looking for better fortune, found it, and came back to rebuild their houses in a way that publicly tells that story.
Jamsher Khera Village, Jalandhar District, Punjab, 2015. Photograph courtesy Rajesh Vora & PHOTOINK
Pachranga Village, Jalandhar District, Punjab, 2015. Photograph courtesy Rajesh Vora & PHOTOINK
Garhi Mahan Singh Village, Jalandhar District, Punjab, 2015. Photograph courtesy Rajesh Vora & PHOTOINK
Rajesh Vora. Mehat Village, Kapurthala District, Punjab, 2014.
Rajesh Vora traveled over 6,000 km across four districts in Punjab to photograph these private homes that are vacant for most of the year, until the owners come back to visit during holidays. They stand as the materialization of immigrants’ dreams, symbols of wealth after the struggle, embodying more than anything the statement: “I made it”.
Rajesh Vora. Jhander Kalan Village, Nawanshahr District, Punjab, 2015. Courtesy of the artist / PHOTOINK.
Rajesh Vora. Kandola Kalan Village, Jalandhar District, Punjab, 2015. Courtesy of the artist / PHOTOINK.
Rajesh Vora. Daulatpur Village, Nawanshahr District, Punjab, 2015. Courtesy of the artist / PHOTOINK.
The exhibition “Everyday Baroque” (2014-2019)” is on view at the Maison des Peintres during Les Rencontres de la Photographie festival in Arles, until September 29.
