Jordan Bower's gallery of India and Nepal at Insomnia

Photographer Jordan Bower, (www.jordanbower.com), has a compelling gallery set up between February 4th and March 3rd at Insomnia (restaurant/bar/lounge) at 563 Bloor Street West, from his 6 month journey through India and Nepal. Bower was gracious enough to answer some questions and give some insight about his work, which will also be prominently displayed at his opening at Insomnia on Febraury 17th at 8pm. Definitely check out his work on his website, it's very visually striking work.

What is this event all about and what was the inspiration behind it?

I spent six months backpacking in India and Nepal in early 2007, mostly on my own. When you're on your own, you have a lot of time to think, and I thought a lot about reason and purpose in life; typical hippie things, I suppose, for a backpacker travelling through India. along the way, I had the very basic realization that every person I met represented a totally unique reality: by that, I mean every person has unique friends, experiences, passions, fears, biases, beliefs, etcetera. It’s really common, as a traveller, to tell stories that begin with "I was out in the middle of nowhere..." without realizing that, to the people that live there, you're actually talking about a place that's exactly in the middle of somewhere.

When you grow up in any culture, it's pretty difficult to separate yourself from the perception that your way is 'right', especially when it's reinforced by media, history books, educational systems, cultural practices, etcetera. However, if you're able to attain that separation - travel isn't the only way to do it, but it's a great, and relatively easy one - you start becoming exceptionally aware of how the 'boundaries' of your culture define you and your outlook on the world. At least, that's what happened to me...

I’ve noticed that most people's first reaction upon seeing the photos is surprise; it's pretty rare, after all, to see a shirtless, elderly man with dreadlocks praying in a small temple when you walk down Queen Street on a Saturday afternoon. but, in India, this is actually a very common sight. In fact, none of the portraits in my show depict anyone doing anything that is uncommon; these are all just normal people living a culturally normal existence. It’s only through comparison that we perceive them as relatively abnormal. But there is a corollary to that perception: if they are abnormal, then we must be relatively abnormal too. It follows that everyone in the world is therefore either totally normal or totally abnormal, which amounts to pretty much the same thing.

Accordingly, there are two ideas behind the show: first, to suggest that we are all normal, or that we are abnormal! And that each of the six and a half billion worldviews on our planet hold intrinsic merit; second, to suggest that there is inherent beauty in our collective diversity - because the fact that, right now, an elderly man with dreadlocks in praying in a small temple somewhere actually makes the planet really, really interesting and cool - and that that beauty, manifested in terms of things like language, dance, art, and other aspects of culture, is something worth preserving.

Which photograph resonates most with you?

It’s a difficult question to answer, because, in order to fit with the ideas behind the show, I need to separate out my connection with these people; what makes these people interesting and timeless is that our realities coexist simultaneously and independently. It is really unlikely that anyone who comes to the show will EVER overlap realities with the people in the photos besides that split-second that my shutter snapped. For me, the overlapping reality is much wider. Each portrait carries with it the entirety of my experience with the subject - ranging from a few seconds to a few hours - but also all the other sensations of that moment: the smells, sounds, sights, emotions, etc. Every time I look at these photos, I get taken back to a specific place. It’s kind of like that first hit of caffeine with your morning coffee.

my favourite photo is a rather innocuous one titled 'woman in pink' , which isn't on my website but is up at the show. I had rented a scooter and headed out into a small market town "in the middle of nowhere" - sorry, I couldn't help myself. I spent several hours taking shots in an unremarkable place that was unlikely to have drawn many tourists; accordingly, the people were very friendly and welcoming with my photography. This woman was one of a group of about 5 who were wearing identical pink saris, and I took a few photos as I caught them approaching me. Something about this woman caught my eye, and I pulled her out of the group and asked to take her portrait. Instantly, her expression changed from weariness and anger to one of joy; in the photo, her lips are parsed tightly shut as if to try to resist baring a toothy, happy grin, but her eyes shine. it seemed to me as if picking her out of the group - or out of the 1.2 billion Indians - somehow gave her validity, and I think that fits nicely with the statement I’m making.

What are some big life lessons you learned from India?

The biggest lesson was to remind myself to slow down and enjoy life. I felt immense pressure as a university educated Canadian to go out and make something of my life, which ultimately means work your ass off in an effort to exude the qualities of ambitiousness. In India, I reconnected with the little things that truly make life pleasurable: watching the sun set, listening to the waves crash on a beach, wandering aimlessly through a crowded market, and striking up conversation with everyone I meet. when i got home, I went into severe culture shock because those experiences don't seem nearly as forthcoming in Toronto.

I hate to use the word 'lifechanging' to describe my trip because I feel like using that cliche diminishes the profound changes I’ve been through. but ultimately, I have seen significant change in my career, my ambitions, my goals, my worldview, and my interests since returning. Something about India...

Which region, city, or venue really struck a chord with you?

I went to so many wonderful places that it's difficult to highlight one over another. hiking in the Himalayas was incredible, indescribable experience that I’d recommend to everyone; it's difficult to imagine the scope and size of these mountains that make the Rockies seem like foothills (and blue mountain like an anthill!). I spent some time in a really interesting town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu called Tiruvannamalai, which is reputed to be the birth place of Shiva, one of the most important Hindu gods. Most of the sadhus - the orange-clad men depicted in a number of my photos - are devotees of Shiva, and there were many thousands of them around this town. The town is set at the foot of a small mountain, and every full moon, thousands of these sadhus would walk barefoot 14 km around the mountain's circumference. I showed up at this place on a whim, intending to spend a day or two, but ended up there for about 10 days, not really doing much but shooting photos. There were some westerners there, studying yoga and meditation at a local ashram. One day, I stopped by to have some lunch, and I distinctly remember one of them saying to me "this is a special place that exerts a control over you. You were called here for a reason and you will be changed as a result of this experience." I wasn't very open-minded to that type of thing at the time, so I wrote it off as the ravings of a hippie lunatic. however, I can trace the roots of this show (meaning the ideas and some of the photos) directly back to the time I spent there, which makes me stop and wonder who is actually the lunatic...

Hopefully some of your readers will come to my show and figure that out for themselves.

TAGS: India, Jordan Bower, Nepal, Pictures, What Does It Mean To Be Human