Dear all,

I am thrilled to announce that Amma, the seventh and last chapter of my long-term project A Myth of Two Souls is shortlisted for the Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards, in the category Photobook of the Year. The winner will be announced during Paris Photo on November the 12th.

Amma is available to order here. To celebrate the end of this epic saga, I am presenting a very special book published by Chose Commune — with 60 photographs tipped-in by hand (printed and bound in Italy). The pictures composing Amma were produced over 13 trips to India in Sri Lanka (2013- 2021). There are only 20 pre-orders left to receive a signed copy of the book along with a free C-print 18 x 24 cm. Published on 10 September 2021, the pre-orders will ship from 18 October 2021.

Amma (‘Mother’ in Tamil language) closes the project A Myth of Two Souls, after 437 pictures published over seven books by Chose Commune (2016-2021). Amma is centered around the princess Sita and deals with the concept of ‘purity’. By no means a happy ending, the closure of The Ramayana forces us to question Rama’s behaviour and his obedience to rules set by a patriarchal society. On the other hand, Sita’s beliefs and actions are free from culture. Sita means furrow in sanskrit, she is the daughter of the Earth.

The pictures composing Amma take us from the seacoast of Sri Lanka, to the city of Ayodhya to the jungle of Bihar, India. Their chromatic scale recreate a world where civilization gradually disappears to leave room to a purely metaphysical space. The Ramayana has neither end nor beginning. It represents the circle of life and therefore it will always be.

Specifications
Photographs and text: Vasantha Yogananthan
Cover artwork: Jatinder Singh Durhailay
24,5 x 30 cm
Softcover with flaps
60 photographs tipped-in by hand
168 pages
English / French
ISBN: 979-10-96383-22-1