Mitch Epstein: In India
Abbaye de Montmajour, Les Rencontres d’Arles
July 4 – September 25, 2022
Between 1978 and 1989, Mitch Epstein made eight trips to India and shot thousands of photographs. The result is an extensive body of work that shows Epstein’s unusual dual vantage in an extraordinarily complicated culture: through his Indian family life and work, he was both an insider and outsider. These photographs, many of which are exhibited here for the first time, show a wide swath of subcultures which Epstein was able to enter, showing a deep and extended experience of India, where separate worlds converged. The Abbaye de Montmajour installation features remastered prints from this body of work and is presented alongside two of the films Epstein collaborated on in India, with his then-wife, director Mira Nair: India Cabaret (1985) and Salaam Bombay! (1988). These works recall a time that feels both distant and immediate, complicated with politically fraught codes of caste, class, and religion, but simpler without the intrusion of digital technology.
An extension of the exhibition In India, 1978-1989 can be seen at the Avignon TGV station. To learn more about Mitch Epstein: In India at Rencontres d’Arles, click here.