Wherever he went with his camera, documentary filmmaker Vignesh A found that his lens sought out stories of women. This was not a conscious thing, rather, the result of the circumstances of the people he was documenting. The 30-year-old, who is part of Poovulagin Nanbargal, a Chennai-based collective working on socio-environmental issues, has been documenting matters related to people and land politics for the past six years.
Be it at Neyveli, a hotbed of protests due to standoffs between locals and the NLC India or at Chennai’s Ennore which was affected by an oil spill and gas leak in December last year, he says that it is women who are most affected. Over 45 photos from his series on Neyveli and Ennore, with focus on the struggles of women, are set to be displayed at an exhibition in the city. The event will also have photos shot by Thiyagu Gurusev, also with Poovulagin Nanbargal.
