Love for the city

German photographer and artist, Julia Knop, enjoys returning to Bengaluru.

July 28, 2015 08:55 pm | Updated 08:55 pm IST

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29bgmjulia1

Julia Knop first visited Bengaluru in 1997 for a project during her course in photography. And, ever since, this city has been an “important part” of her career.

After subsequent visits in 2008 and 2013, Julia is back again as a BangaloREsident as part of Max Mueller Bhavan’s BangaloREsidency programme. “I feel like I know Bengaluru. It’s an exciting city and I keep coming back. I always get some kind of stimulation for my work,” Julia says.

Her love for photography began at a young age, when she got a camera from her father. With access to a lab at her home, she enjoyed the process of developing black and white prints of the photos she clicked. “I’ve always been interested in art, travel and photography. The combination of the three makes for an interesting profession.”

Born in Oberhausen, Germany, she studied photography at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. She has been living in Hamburg since 1998 and works as a freelance photographer for magazines and agencies.

Julia’s work in Bengaluru involves a project with her host organisation — Bremer Overseas and Development Association (BORDA), which is a German NGO. With its focus on sewage treatment and decentralised waste-water treatment system, the group was on the lookout for photographers to document its works and explore the topic of sanitation. “I’m interested in the infrastructural development of cities and BORDA’s project seemed to match my idea,” Julia explains. Apart from personalising the issue using portraits, she also intends to take interviews to understand people’s relationship with water.

Having travelled to different parts of the country, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi and Goa, Julia loves the profound impressions that people and places leave on her mind.

“When I’m in India, I like going to temples and watching people practise their religion. Spirituality is not commonly talked about in Germany.” Describing Bengaluru as a “happening city with an interesting crowd”, she observes the drastic transformation the place has undergone since her first visit nearly 18 years ago. “There has been tremendous growth with more traffic, buildings and, of course, more people.”

Her initial visit involved photographing sterile office environments for which she found it easy to gain access to companies. But on her subsequent visits, the process became difficult. “The security level in offices is very high now. The contacts I made earlier were of much help.” She has also noticed changes among the people in the city. “Women dress in a more westernised manner now, whereas, in the past, even ladies from abroad used to refrain from wearing exposing clothes.” The presence of smarter and more educated people is another difference, Julia observes and noted. However, she adds that there are some characteristics that still remain the same. “One thing I’ve always noticed to be constant is the kind of shirts worn by men, especially with a pen in the pocket. Some habits probably die hard, I suppose.”

While she appreciates the effort taken to build facilities like the metro and flyovers, she laments about the lack of proper walkways in the city. “With the uneven terrain and all the potholes, I feel like I might need hiking shoes to walk here!”

One of her current projects, Global Avenue, is on display exhibition at a public space in Hamburg. Comprising 40 large-format prints of street scenes from four different cities -- São Paulo, Istanbul, Shanghai and Berlin -- the collection portrays the growing similarity of such streets across the world. “There is a lot of westernisation happening. For instance, in some parts of China, you feel like it could be Paris. I notice this parallelism in many cities. You see people going to Starbucks, playing the same songs on their phones and wearing similar clothes.”

Julia points out that although this is happening here as well, India seems to have a stronger identity in of itself. “If everyone wears jeans and t-shirts, then where is the distinction? It’s beautiful to have a unique identity.”

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