Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France, who has put up an exhibition of photographs in the city, says there is nowhere better than Chandigarh

Mona

When not working, or reading, Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France, loves to click pictures. Bowled over by the very vibrant India, his photographs speak a different language. The black and white frames capture architecture and nature, people and places, elections and emotions alike.

To commemorate World Heritage Day, the Chandigarh Government Museum and Art Gallery opened Tender Concrete, an exhibition of 16 photographs by Emmanuel Lenain. In City Beautiful, on Tuesday, this professional diplomat, and amateur photographer as he likes to call himself, Lenain spoke of his love for camera and the country he currently calls home.

Pretty passionate about India, he has visited and photographed most of its states. Tender Concrete is a collection of 16 photographs, many of them shots of Chandigarh and its iconic architecture ndash; the Tower of Shadows, Gandhi Bhavan, Government Museum and Art Gallery and, of course, the Secretariat, coupled with pictures of Mill Onwers’ Association Building, Lilavati Lalbhai Library, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and National Institute of Immunology, Delhi.

“Concrete, when handled by the greatest architects, has always seemed tender to me. It allows for sensual and dizzying curves, the alternation of empty and full, a plunge into solitude and reverie. Concrete allows for a constant, almost musical tension – rectangle contrasts with curve, sharp edges with softened pro les, static with fluid, rest with movementhellip; A certain harmony emerges from opposites,” shared Lenain.

His love for Chandigarh and its architecture is difficult to miss in the pictures, as also the talk. “There is nowhere better than Chandigarh, except maybe in Brasilia, which was built by an architect from a scratch, just as Le Corbusier did with Chandigarh. That’s why I wanted to devote an exhibition only to these buildings. A photograph of architecture is not necessarily a topographical survey, it can be the expression of an emotion,” he further added.

In black amp; white

Not much of a photo person during childhood, his love for camera started in adulthood with a friend introducing him to photography. “It was the chemistry of creating a photo that I fell in love with.” Playing with light is tough and technical; Lenain loves gelatine silver print photography. “It’s basically monochrome film photography based on the light sensitivity.” In fact, his camera can only click black and white images.

Why choose monochrome over colour? “It’s the aesthetic that I like. Space, rooms, lines, rays, repetition and positions of shapes and things attracts my eyes,” shares Lenain, who admits in the same breath that black and white is a difficult choice to stick with when in India. “Yours is a truly vibrant country.” Apart from camera, he uses his phone as a visual diary and to share pictures with friends and family, but definitely no filters for him!

An avid reader, he’s read Arundhati Roy and Vikram Seth: “In France, people love to read Seth’s big tome, A Suitable Boy.” However, he didn’t like the Netflix series A Suitable Boy much. “The book’s way better,” he vouches. Amongst the latest reads that he loved is Vivek Shanbhag’s Ghachar Ghochar. “It’s an interesting tale of how a family moving from a small accommodation to bigger one changes things over.”

The Right click

Back to photography, Lenain’s frames have been exhibited at many places. He recently held an exhibition titled Invisible Poetry at India Habitat Centre, Delhi. These works will also be displayed at Kolkata’s Indian Museum in April and then at Patna’s Bihar Museum in August.

He also did a book with celebrated Indian photographer Raghu Rai To France—In India ndash; capturing their love for each other’s countries. Apart from Rai, Lenain likes the works of Indian photographer Dayanita Singh.

If his Chandigarh visit was focussed on photography, he’s constantly up to boost India-France partnership in varied areas. In fact, he recently got clicked with Shah Rukh Khan at NMACC launch gala, trying to convince the superstar to shoot in France again.

Having served in the US and China before his India posting, Lenain had come to India over 25 years back as an intern. “I hope those living in Chandigarh realise how fortunate they are to be calling one of the most beautiful cities in the world their home,” he signs off.

(Tender Concrete is on at the Great Hall, Govt Museum and Art Gallery-10 till June 30)

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