Vasantha Yogananthan is a French artist from Grenoble
Episode 386: Vasanatha Yogananthan is a French artist with a prolific photobook output. His recent book Mystery Street is the culmination of his residency in New Orleans, where the artist decided to work with a local school to observe their pupils.
The artist photographed the children from a fly-on-the-wall perspective for over three months. The experience results in a beautiful catalog of images of New Orleans youth at play, in proximity, with an implied innocence and a greater sense of life in New Orleans. Whereas I would not usually opt for books regarding children’s portraiture, I find Vasantha’s work incredibly honest. There is something bittersweet about the work that is hard to place. Perhaps this is simply the idea of youth trying to be grasped by someone far from it, but the cumulative effect is one of tenderness. I am reminded of Helen Levitt amongst others.
Please tune into this episode. Vasantha is an incredibly talented artist whose back catalog of books should be explored at length.
