Life in the City of Death

Head On Photo Festival 2013

Kate Lewis

event-detail-person-vertical — Kate Lewis

This event has concluded

Dates: 13 Jun 2013 - 04 Jul 2013

Location: Sun Studios Australia 42 Maddox St Alexandria NSW 2015 Australia

Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat-Sun 8am-4pm

Entry Fee: Free

Exhibition Event:

Official Opening 13/06/2013 8:30 am

A solo exhibition by photographer Kate Lewis, documenting Life in the City of Death, Varanasi.

Varanasi is the holiest city in India, situated on the banks of the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh, North India. One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, the city is the beating heart of the Hindu universe, a crossing point between the physical and spiritual worlds, and the Ganges is viewed as a river of salvation, an everlasting symbol of hope to past, present and future generations.

Hindu pilgrims come to bath and wash away a lifetime of sins in the Ganges and to cremate their loved ones at the burning Ghats before their ashes are placed in the river. Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganges remits sins and that dying in this holy city ensures release of a person’s soul from the cycle of its transmigrations.

Kate Lewis has sought to document the life, chaos, and colour of Varanasi and inform a broader view of the City of Death, one dotted with a vast and beautiful culture, landscape and history that is seldom celebrated. Kate Lewis acts as a humble recorder, whilst applying a photojournalist style and approach to the imagery, allowing the subjects, culture and environment of this vast city to be the key elements of this story portraying Life in the City of Death.