Nora Bibel
bangaloREsident@Goethe-Zentrum Trivandrum

 
© Nora Bibel One and a half years had to go by until I was able to start the Residency in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, invited by Goethe-Institut Bangalore. So this time I knew beforehand what I had to expect from the concept of bangaloREsiden­cy and I was very excited to be part of it again.

My project “Freezing Frames of Chala”, which I implemented this time, had its origins in a talk with Dr. Syed Ibrahim the director of the Goethe-Zentrum in Thiruvanantha­puram. In 2014 he suggested that I look at the wholesale market Chala.
 
© Nora Bibel Chala Market was officially established towards the end of 18th century by Raja Kesavadas, Dewan of Travancore. The idea was to make Chala Bazar the central point of supply for commodities to the Travancore kingdom. The Killi and Kara­mana rivers nearby were used to transport goods to the market. Today the market, which is spread over 2 square kilometres is still a busy place. There is virtually nothing that is not available in Chala, from fruits and vegetables, gold and silver to paint and hardware.
 
But nowadays you can also see that old heritage houses disappear slowly and fa­mily-run business in the third generation are often closed down. The inhabitants of the city prefer the comfortable supermarkets and larger shopping malls.
 
During my daily photo wanderings through the neighbourhood, I was accompa­nied by Anjali Gopan a young local photographer, who was introduced to me by my host the Goethe-Zentrum. She was a big help for the project and it would not have been possible to do the work without her assistance.  

© Nora Bibel Together we visited the hidden places of the market, especially empty rooms and buildings. By myself, I wouldn’t have been able to get access inside the houses of the family-run businesses and take photographs because only a few peo­ple who live and work in the bazar can speak English. With her sensitive manner, Anjali convinced almost everybody to pose and she waited patient­ly when I was in the process of taking a picture.
 
My final presentation happened in the main road of the market which was my idea from the beginning of the project. I love the idea that the pictures of a project, first of all return to the place and the people where they were produced. After that, they can go on into a more artistic surrounding in a new size and form. Bobby Mohan, a designer working together with the Goethe-Zentrum, was a big help in realizing the street exhibition including the task of convincing everybody about the production of the presentation.
 
Anjali Gopan The response to the street exhibition was amazing. It seems that Thiruvanant­hapuram has never had such an artistic presentation in public space. That really makes me happy.
At all times during my stay I felt very well looked after by the Goethe-Institut and my host the Goethe-Zentrum.
 
What was different from my last stay in Bangalore was that I didn’t have any contact or exchange with other residents. During my last stay, it was very inspi­ring to see how the other artists from different disciplines developed their projects. This time, being alone in Thiruvananthapuram, I had more intensive contact to local people and some good connections developed. I´m very happy that I could experien­ce both.
 
Again, my time in India was incredibly productive and I worked a lot, which has been made possible by the well thought-out programme.