Petra Stavast: ‘Ramya’ – Beautifully Archiving Your Landlady for 14 years

Petra Stavast (Tiel, NL, 1977) is a visual artist. Through the media of photography, film and text she unravels and structures complex social issues often departing from a seemingly insignificant personal observation. In books and installations she brings different fragments of research together and translates them into compelling visual stories.

Netherlands – 

Ramya, long-term personal project converted into a photobook by Dutch photographer Petra Stavast, made over a period of 14 years, is simple story of a tenant documenting her landlady Ramya when she first moved into her house in 2001. Published and designed by Hans Gremmen of f-w photography, Stavast successfully creates a very personal and intimate connection while photographing Ramya and her surroundings. The project is also beautified with photographs and video works from Ramya’s private archive and her strong faith in Rajneeshpuram(OSHO), established between 1981 and 1985 in no-man-land of Oregon, USA.

Nominated as the Best Book of 2014 for Photo-Eye and Emaho, ‘Ramya’ was my favourite book from 2014 and the simplicity of the book with a very deep-seated relation of the photographer and the photographed, is a sheer visual delight.

 

Photography Reviewed by Manik Katyal

 

Screen Shot 2015-09-03 at 8.44.39 PM

Related Posts

The Sochi Project: Rob Hornstra & Arnold van Bruggen

Russia –  Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen have been working together since 2009 to tell the story of Sochi, ...

Joao Pina: “Condor” – Exposing Secret Military Conspiracy by Six Latin American Countries

Portugal – In 2005, I was finishing my first book – Por Teu Livre Pensamento (“For your Free Thinking”) – ...

Reza Deghati: “Photography Is the Biggest Revolution Ever – A Universal Language of Truth and Hope”

Iranian-French photojournalist Reza Deghati shares his journey from a Tabriz childhood witnessing injustice to 46 years documenting revolutions, wars, and ...

Douglas Stockdale on Laia Abril “The Epilogue”

Laia Abril (b. 1986 Barcelona, Spain, currently resides in NYC and Barcelona) continues to develop narratives that probe identity issues ...

Roger Ballen: ‘Maybe I can speak goat, and I can speak a little chicken’

South Africa –    Celebrated Photographer Roger Ballen has been photographing for around 50 years mostly in Johannesburg, South Africa. ...

Thana Faroq: “A Photograph Is Never Innocent” – On Migration, Memory and What Images Cannot Hold

In this interview, photographer Thana Faroq discusses her Yemeni roots, unconventional academic path blending politics with photography, and acclaimed book ...

Transgender in Armenia : Nazik Armenakyan

Armenia – Cross dressers and transgender women who engage in sex work have a more difficult time hiding their identities ...

Scoffing Pig : Nozomi Iijima

Japan –  I grew up as a farmer’s daughter. My home was sandwiched between a pigpen and a farmhouse and ...

Adil Hasan: When Abba was Ill

India – Mahmood Hassan passed away in November 2012 in Jamshedpur, his hometown, where he had worked with Tata Steel ...

Blasting Into Space With The Afronauts – Cristina De Middel

© Cristina De Middel, from the series The Afronauts, all rights reserved England – It is not an easy task to interview Cristina ...

Jordi Ruiz Cirera: Los Menonos

 Bolivia –  Comprising of images taken between 2010 and 2011 in the Mennonite colonies of Santa Cruz, in Eastern Bolivia, Los Menonos ...

Hans Gremmen: ‘Peeling off the layers’- Understanding the link between Photobooks and Design

Netherlands –  Hans Gremmen is a talented designer based in Amsterdam known for his innovative work with photo books. Regularly ...