The Eiffel Tower and the vibrant life around it captured through photographs at an exhibition in Thiruvananthapuram

Photography exhibition by Srinath GM in Thiruvanantapuram captures Eiffel Tower's essence in Parisian life

Eiffel Tower and the world around it. That summarises the ongoing photography exhibition, Under Eiffel’s Watch - A Parisian Canvas, by Srinath GM, at Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum, in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Bengaluru-based visual artist, photographer and documentary filmmaker has brought out the historical and visual significance of the celebrated monument, which is integral to the Parisian landscape, as his monochrome frames freeze what is happening around it.

In his note about the exhibition, Srinath points out that he has presented the Eiffel Tower “not as a static icon but as a living, breathing participant in the story of Paris... This curated series offers a reimagined perspective of the Eiffel Tower—not just as an architectural icon but as a dynamic cultural symbol.”

While studying at Arts University, Bournemouth, UK, he had travelled to Paris as part of a research project and that was when the idea dawned upon him. “After that I might have travelled to Paris three or four times during 2019-20. These are the pictures shortlisted from the hundreds I had clicked,” he says. This is his first exhibition in India, having done one in the UK.

An engineer by profession, he left behind that career to become a photographer. He worked in the UK for two years and is currently working as assistant professor at School of Design and Innovation, RV University, Bengaluru.

Srinath says one reason he chose to focus on the Tower was that it is the most pocketable monument. “Whoever comes to Paris carry back miniatures of the Eiffel Tower. Apart from that I have been following the works of renowned photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who has documented how lives revolve around the structure. I took inspiration from that concept and went around the place like he travelled. Then I applied my vision to it. Each trip has been a learning experience. If the first one was to know everything about Parisian culture, subsequent ones were to understand and develop my vision about the city.”

The 330 metre-structure, built between 1887 and 1889, has been captured from different angles by Srinath. The 30 photographs on display fall into two “complementary” sections – those with Eiffel Tower and those without it.