The Pulikali Tigers (2011-2012)

The Pulikali Tigers are part of a larger series titled Nine Lives inspired by a book of the same name written by William Dalyrimple, the well-known observer and commentator on contemporary Indian society and life. The book considers the space of spirituality in modern India and takes nine examples of spiritual activity or lives that are pertinent to the idea of an approach to life in India now. Fox’s work, titled Nine Lives (after Dalyrimple), is directed by the book and portrays many of the characters that Dalyrimple looks at in a way that exposes the strange relationship they have to both real and fictional worlds. In a society driven by advancement of technology and personal success the spiritual is still incredibly live in India with daily rituals still being undertaken at work and at home. The photographs are made using large format film and studio lighting, shot outdoors in selected locations (on local streets) and away from the carnival or hub of the event. They are made as formal portraits with some key to both the spiritual character and the real person or real world connected to them. Each portrait is made as part of a series and the series connects through gesture or pose. The final body of work will include nine different characters and, so far Fox has photographed the Bauls and Barupias of West Bengal, the Theyyam in Kerala and the Pulikali Tigers also in Kerala. Other characters to be photographed include characters from the original book as well as new characters identified by Fox. The final work is expected to be finished by 2020 and will be exhibited and published after that. Pulikali play (in Malayalam, 'Puli' means leopard or tiger while ‘Kali’ stands for play) is a ritualistic transformation typically performed during Onam, a harvest festival held each year in Kerala. Fox approached the pulleys with her large format camera and a request: just before she shot them, she asked them to strike a dance pose that counters the rigidity of the studio photograph with the improvisation of performance. She also asked the tiger performers to take their masks off, in order to reveal the contrast between fiction and reality