An envoy whose awe-inspiring black and white shoots are capturing minds

I did not want to follow the documentary genre but a personal subjective approach. A photograph of architecture is not necessarily a topographical survey. It can be the expression of an emotion. I am less interested in the buildings taken than in architectural details which taken out of their context, acquire a poetic dimension- Emmanuel Lenain

French Ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain, while stressing that cooperation in defence is deep and the Indo-French relations go beyond that and there was a need to expand relations at different levels, says, "During the first wave of Covid, we witnessed India exporting drugs needed to fight the pandemic to France. The second wave saw France play a major role in transporting oxygen to India."

The ambassador says that the next level is to have more people-to-people contact. Stressing that it is relations between people, and not just at the government level, which will go a long way in cementing bonds, Lenain says that more Indian students are going to France for studies, which has resulted in an increase in student exchange programme between the two nations.

"Business is also very strong. We have a lot of French companies and investors here. And we will see a lot more in the future. Culture is an important area and we are witnessing more artists' exchange between the two countries. It is a diversified relationship."

In Chandigarh for his recent photographic exhibition 'The Tenderness of Concrete', showcasing 16 photographs capturing iconic buildings in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad, to commemorate 'World Heritage Day', Lenain, who has been photographing ever since he was an adult, says that for him, concrete has always been tender when handled by great architects.

Saying that it allows for sensual and dizzying curves, the alternation of empty and full, a plunge into solitude and reverie, Lenain adds, "Concrete allows for a constant, almost musical tension: rectangle contrasts with curve, sharp edges with softened pro les, static with fluid, rest with movement. Here and there, buildings of strict verticality and horizontality contrast with the freedom of a curved ramp. And, as is often the case, a certain harmony emerges from opposites."

For someone, who has always been photographing in black and white, he says this is how he sees spaces and patterns and perceives things.

"Just like some people like to paint with bright colours, while others prefer drawing... I like the black and white mode. That is why I was attracted to this project as it is more about shapes and how they occupy space."

Emphasising Chandigarh's architectural marvel, Lenain says that it is in that city - the Indian graft of this international style with powerful symbolism – that one finds the best architectural reverie.

"In modern, contemporary architecture, the material is concrete, some look at it as imposing, I feel its texture is very soft, and the light playing with it creates a sensuousness. A photograph must make you feel something in front of it," he elaborates on the creative nuances.

India, adds Lenain, has been a formidable field for modernist architecture. Nowhere except maybe in Brasilia with Oscar Niemeyer has carte blanche been given to an architect to build a full city from scratch as Le Corbusier did in Chandigarh.

"That is precisely why I wanted to devote an exhibition only to these buildings. I did not want to follow the documentary genre but a personal subjective approach. A photograph of architecture is not necessarily a topographical survey. It can be the expression of an emotion. I am less interested in the buildings taken than in architectural details which, taken out of their context, acquire a poetic dimension," he adds.

Open to taking the exhibition to smaller cities, he adds that every time he goes to a smaller city in India, there is a lot to discover.

"I try and meet students as well. I am always fascinated by the enthusiasm and the excitement they have to learn more," he says.