Vasantha Yogananthan - EXILE

“Exile” is the third chapter of Vasantha Yogananthan's long-term project A Myth of Two Souls, which offers a contemporary retelling of The Ramayana. A seven-chapter tale first recorded by the Sanskrit poet Valmiki around 300 BC, The Ramayana is one of the founding epics of Hindu mythology.

Since 2013, Yogananthan has been traveling from north to south India, retracing the itinerary of the epic's heroes. Between fiction and reality, he deliberately blurs the lines through multiple aesthetic approaches: color, hand-painted and illustrated photographs are interspersed with vernacular images to compose the layers of this timeless story.

The end of chapter two announces that Rama is banished from the kingdom, forced to live in exile during fourteen years. The third chapter tells about Rama's life in the forest, where he is joined by Sita and his brother Lakshmana. The Ramayana has been continuously rewritten and reinterpreted through time, and for Yoganathan's book has been retold by Indian writer Arshia Sattar.

A Myth of Two Souls will be published in seven photobooks between 2016-2020, one per chapter of the epic.

"Exile" is the third installment of Vasantha Yogananthan's long-term project, A Myth of Two Souls, which offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the Ramayana. An epic composed of seven chapters and attributed to the poet Valmiki, the Ramayana, composed more than two thousand years old, is one of the fundamental texts of Hindu mythology. - publisher statement

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Since 2013, Vasantha Yogananthan has been traveling India from north to south, retracing the route taken by the heroes of the epic. Between fiction and reality, he deliberately blurs the lines by multiplying the approaches: color photographs, repainted photographs, illustrated photographs and vernacular images compose the layers of a timeless story.

After the marriage of Rama and Sita, the two heroes celebrated in the second chapter, this third book tells of their exile. Following a family intrigue, Rama is banished from the kingdom, thus forced to live fourteen years on the road accompanied by Sita and his brother Lakshmana. The writing of the third chapter of this epic – constantly reinterpreted throughout the ages – was entrusted to the writer Arshia Sattar.

The project A Myth of Two Souls will be the subject of 7 books published at a rate of two per year until 2020 , by Chose Commune editions. - writings of the editor