Artist Profile
Marimuthu is a photographer, poet and writer. He is currently teaching and studying for his PhD in English literature. His doctoral thesis examines depictions of blindness in apocalyptic fiction. His Masters thesis reviewed the autobiographical comedy of Trevor Noah and Maz Jobrani.
Marimuthu has led campaigns in India’s disability community for such fundamental financial freedoms as the right to open a bank account.
Marimuthu is Blind Burners’ leader in India.
You can sign up to Marimuthu’s newsletter Bullets Of Interest here.
You can read some of Marimuthu’s poetry here.
Artist Statement
Knowingly or unknowingly, I discovered a song 6 years ago, which still sticks in my mind. Whenever people say I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I remember these words: “It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard. Impossible is not a word. It’s just a reason for someone not to try”.
That’s what my life is all about. Proving I can do something when people around me say I can’t. I got into photography that way.
I shared some of my photographs in a chat group. Friends asked me who took the photographs. I told them I did, and they didn’t believe me. I took up photography to prove them wrong.
They are not entirely wrong, but not entirely right either.
My photography includes a lot of intelligent guesswork and some trusted pairs of eyes. I never viewed or called myself a photographer. I just loved to take pictures randomly. Especially the sky and clouds attract me, because I view the sky to be what I really want to be. Boundless and free.
The greens of the trees and bushes cool my eyes. Nature is my Shangrila and I love capturing it in its various forms. I don’t plan my shots. I pick up my mobile, and click a few pictures whenever I feel like doing so. Not all my photos are clear and beautiful. For every beautiful image you see here, I have deleted hundreds of shaky and messy pictures.
I am happy to have friends who openly tell me what they think about the shots. I do not need sympathy or admiration. If a picture is not clear, I would like to be told the same. And, there are people in my life who do so. It makes me happy, it makes me to strive to try more.
Accessibility Tech
You may notice snippets of a robotic voice at the start of my audio descriptions. This is my screen reader, vocalising the touch screen controls I have used to create these recordings. I memorised most descriptions. For some I depended on Braille to help me record the takes. Accessible technology, take a bow!
Without an accessible camera application, it would not be possible for me to capture these lovely moments.
Into The Green
The photographs in this exhibition are arranged around an imagined journey, perhaps a motorbike ride through country lanes in a far off land. Most of our group, Blind Burners, have never met in person. We found each other and became friends online during lockdown. So let’s travel through virtual reality. I’ll show you some of my favourite places.
Travelling Clouds
Photograph by Mari Muthu.
The sky with bands of dark and light blue. Majestic grey and white clouds. A field with a simple white corrugated iron hut. Red brown earth blending into the road in front of us.
Home I
Photograph by Mari Muthu
The view from the terrace of my home. Blue walls. Green vines grow from floor to ceiling. The window looks out across rooftops.The lines of the vines and window form a pleasing mesh.
Home II
Photograph by Mari Muthu
The view from the terrace of my home. Blue walls. Green vines grow from floor to ceiling. The window looks out across rooftops. The lines of the window frame slope gently up from right to left.
Country Road 1
Photograph by Mari Muthu.
A sunny day. An open road stretches out. Curving to the right. Electrical wires reach to the sky from a roadside post. A building and tree to our left.
Country Road 2
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Dusted in gravel, a narrow road stretches in front. Thick small-leaved bushes on either side, surfaces warmed by the sun
Refreshment
Photograph by Mari Muthu
An irrigation channel through a grassy field cuts diagonally downwards from left to right. Springy ground, thick cool water, gentle sloping bank, brown field. A grey sky, and low horizon of coconut trees.
Farm Building
Photograph by Mari Muthu.
Green textures, lush ridges and patches of grass. A row of rocks. A simple white hut with corrugated iron roof. The shot is taken with a 30 degree tilt to our left.
Farmland with Sticks and Tin
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Bands of grey sky, coconut trees, fields and road, with a 30 degree tilt to our right. A small building with sloped roof. Two neat piles of branches. A small silver tin by the roadside.
Flag
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Thick horizontal bands. Grey. Mid-green. Lush green, with traces of brown.
Lake
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Grey-white sky. Soft low mountain tops. White light across a glistening lake. A small blue boat glimpsed to the right. Red brown earth at our feet stretching out towards the water. Gentle 30 degree right tilt.
I Stand Tall
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Grey sky, a low mountain slope covered with green. A single tree stands in the centre, bending a little to the left, its branches and leaves form a roughly shaped sphere.
Reflection
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Grey sky cut by two wires. A thick river stretches out, lined by coconut trees. The brownish water takes some of the sky’s whites and grey.
Roadside Sublime
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Blue sky , soft lit low mountains caressed by clouds. Strips of green, a roadside barrier. Thin green plants on the ground in front. Gentle 30 degree tilt right.
Valley Of Literary Dreams
Photograph by Mari Muthu
A beautiful valley stretches out ahead. Low mountains on the horizon. Misty browning greys. Some small trees, lush green grass, yellow flowers, and a downward sloping meadow at our feet.
Soft Or Prickly
Photograph by Mari Muthu
A green ridged slope rises upwards, some trees near the top. Grey white clouds dancing a waltz. The ground looks like it might feel springy to the touch. Soft or prickly, that is the question.
Green Team Parade
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Three green stripes sloping down from left to right. A narrow band of coconut trees, a lush green field of waist-high crops, a deep band of green on the ground in front of us. The softest of white skies,
Lush
Photograph by Mari Muthu
A close up of grass and other plants. Elegant slim fronds, leaves shaped like hearts and spades. A lowdown dancefloor of plantlife. Brown sustaining earth.
Shelter In Nature
Photograph by Mari Muthu
A coconut plantation’s edge to our left, we stand on a gentle slope. The trees lean to the right, their fronds welcome us. Carpets of grass, cool shade, no judgements.
Vanakam!
Photograph by Mari Muthu
A glorious expanse of coconut trees singing to the heavenly sunlit sky. Low mountain bathed in soft purply light. Pale green thicket at our feet. 30 degree tilt to our right.
Road Trip
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Wide stripes of blue, green and brown. A wedge of palm trees squeezed into a field of green and the lines of a fence, and squeezed from below by the soft sloping edges of a dusted road.
Halo
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Gazing up at a bright blue sky, framed by a gently curved railing. Top left are grey-white clouds. In the centre, the sun is intense white, beaming a single ray. Its halo is exquisite.
Hazy X
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Gazing up at a hazy blue sky. The edge of a roof forms a small triangle at the lower left side. A grey-white cloud appears to ascend towards the sun. Elongated and leaning to the right, the sun’s rays create an elegant narrow X.
Are You Looking At Me?
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Gazing at the sun. Scanning down from darker to lighter blues. The sun, looking straight at us. The brightest heat at its centre. Its rays form a bold X, tilted left.
Arnie In The Sky
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Close-up of a brawny, muscular cloud giant, perhaps his shoulder and flexed biceps. The gap between them, a blue sunlit triangle.
Party In The Clouds
Photograph by Mari Muthu
A sunlit party of clouds. Lying on our back, we gaze up at the sky. Tall clouds form a circle around us, young and old, a gathering of friends reaching for the sky.
100 Years Of Solitude
Photograph by Mari Muthu
Some time ago while cleaning a refrigerator I discovered this large piece of ice, and held it up against a clear blue sky.
Marimuthu Thanks
Thank YOU for coming with me on this virtual ride. I hope the sights you have seen will inspire you to appreciate the wonders of the natural environment around you. The photography in this exhibition is possible only because the settings in my camera phone are accessible, but this is not the case for all cameras or creator tools.
I would like to thank the following accessible features and settings on my camera phone, without whom none of this would have been possible:
- The shutter button
- The toggle between front- and back-facing camera
- Image analysis voice guidance for aligning shots
My thanks also goes to my friends for helping me with their honest observations.