The Old Textile Mill : Gautam Banerji

 I woke up with the pleasant surprise that the cyanotype of mine of The Old Textile Mill has made it to the Fifth International Print Biennale 2025 to be held in Yerevan later this year. 

Cyanotype is an alternative photo print media which is still used for civil engineering draftsmanship and printing construction plans. Photo artists find it to be an amazing means for creativity and self expression

At the Old Textile Mill, Dilijan

You will find the original below.

The original photograph

Some of my friends on this network will recall that two other cyanotypes of mine had made it to the Fourth International Print Biennale in 2023. I am sharing them here as well.  My thanks and gratitude to all those who have encouraged me on this journey.

Lake Sevan, Armenia

The Mermaid of Sevan

 

Here are the few other pictures I had taken at the Old Textile Mill, evoking the feeling of desolation and abandonment. These in turn lay bare a surreal image of the interiors.

He presides over the desolation

The abandonment resonates with a feeling of forced confinement

No exit

Coiled up memories of the past

Bundled for disposal

A view through shattered panes

The visit brought home a reflection on hardships and isolation of a bygone era, much like the poet Jimmy Santiago Baca's prison experience in "Who Understands Me but Me." The lines below from the poem takes you on a journey through self-discovery:

"they have changed me and I
am not the same man,

they give me no shower, so I
live with my smell,

they separate me from my
brothers, so I live without
brothers,

who understands me when I
say this is beautiful?"

Though desolately despairing, it resonates with hope through an inner strength. It's a resurrection from the past into a new beginning. The Old Textile Mill is being transformed presently into a new Art Centre.