Eternal Flame is a photo essay documenting my experience in India 2015. In Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, a fire above Manikarnika Ghat has been burning for centuries; its sacred flame igniting cremation ceremonies that ensure freedom from reincarnation, and entry into heaven.
Death and its place in life presents itself in everything you sense on your journey through India. In a continent so densely occupied by its population, finding an escape is a common desire that leaves you feeling disappointed so long as you seek it.
Light and heat too, are a constant. So much so that time appears to pass slowly as one long, connecting day that never ends. Often you wake without recognising if the moon ever rose or the sun ever set.
The magical gift India can give an individual is the ability to see order and peace amid the chaos. To find stillness within and see it mirrored by your surrounds. In this series I hope to capture moments where acceptance and contentment found within myself, have been mirrored by subjects along the way.
Indians are some of the most resourceful, creative and optimistic individuals with a contagious strength and resilience. Especially the women. While my time entering and exiting their space was brief, everything I experienced and witnessed continues as it has before. Right now, for eternity.
