Past and Present

Photography

Past and present are a continuum – one cannot exist without the other. A conundrum of time (or our concept of time).

We are equally limited and enriched by both; personal history entrenches much of our behavior, national history, our beliefs, history of humanity – our archetypal identity and empathy.  Sometimes, these realizations become more acute when we travel to places of distant cultures and interact with heritage and way of life that is very different from our own. In these places, rich spiritual past and mundane present, often infused with technology and unsightly appearances of ‘consumer’ objects in ancient sites, fuse seamlessly, somehow, in everyday rituals of markets, prayers, customs.

How can this continuum be captured in a photograph?

Here, we have a unique account of such an endeavor. A visit to the House of Photography in Marrakesh during a trip to Morocco triggered a series of photographs that created a thread from far history to recent past to moments of the present presence. All in the same photo.

The House of Photography was established by Parisian Patrick Menac’h and Marrakesh-native Hamid Mergani.  Both collecting vintage Moroccan photography, they decided to open a photography museum to show their collections in context. Together they ‘repatriated’ 4500 photos, 2000 glass negatives and 80 documents dating from 1870 to 1950.

‘While I was taking photos of the House’s vintage photos, I realized that imperfections caused by glare and reflections are making them more interesting. The photos thus acquired three “identities”: the original one from the past long gone, the reflections of parts of the Photography house – a piece of history of their preservation, and the reflections of me (taking the photos) in the present moment’ [Hung]

Both visually stunning and contemplative, philosophical and enacting, a connection of times past and present, these photos are also a deeply emotional experience. Of one of us, being shared with all in the most telling and engaging way.