The Transformation of a Theyyam
Mangalore, India 2009
The Theyyam prepares himself spiritually and physically for the Hindu religious ceremony as one of his acolytes paints his face.
I shot this almost five years ago. I’ve scrolled through my shots for this trip to Kerala many times; I have hundreds and hundreds of Theyyam shots. Each time I look, I find one or two that are worth working on. And I find some worthless ones. I delete those after much deliberation.
The other day I noticed this shot. What attracted my eye was the painter. The light on his face, the light on his hand and then I noticed the light on Theyyam’s face and then again (!) the light on Theyyam’s hand, that ‘rhythm’ made my photo. I darkened the parts of the photo that did not contribute to the idea of a holy light falling on Theyyam and his acolyte. I changed the ubiquitous orange/red clothing combination to a deep magenta. I added some texture in the form of scratches.
Then I was happy.