Plot of the Exhibition
Crossed Gazes on Ganesh
A collective street photography exhibition initiated, organized, and curated by Gaetano Sodaro
Each year, the Ganesh Festival transforms Paris into a space of color, music, and spirituality. For me, as a street photographer, this event has been more than a celebration — it has been a field of encounters, exchanges, and shared humanity.
While photographing the festival, I discovered not only its visual richness, but also the strength of the photographic community that formed around it.
But what struck me most was the way gazes intertwined: the gaze of Parisians discovering an Indian tradition in the heart of their city; the gaze of devotees offering their sacred gestures to the eyes of passersby; and finally, the gaze of the photographers capturing and sharing those moments.
In the images of the festival, one sees both those who celebrate and those who watch — a silent dialogue between cultures, curiosities, and sensibilities.
In the images of the festival, one sees both those who celebrate and those who watch — a silent dialogue between cultures, curiosities, and sensibilities.
From this experience was born the idea for this exhibition. I wanted to open my own perspective to that of others and invite seven photographers to share their visions of the same moment. Together, we observed, exchanged, and discovered our own ways of seeing — our styles, emotions, and distances. In this way, my images converse with theirs to create a collective narrative.
Ganesh, the elephant-headed god — deity of beginnings and pathways — embodies here the very spirit of photography: each journey is singular, each perspective unique, yet together they compose a shared story.
The elephant, symbol of wisdom and serene strength, also becomes a metaphor for the memory and depth we seek to capture through our images.
This exhibition is therefore both personal and collective: a project I initiated, but one that comes alive through the diversity of gazes — Indian, French, photographic — that meet and resonate within it.
Participating photographers:
Gaetano Sodaro – Fabien Ecochard – Antoine Dogan – Mélanie Coentreiras – Taieb Mokni – Laura Leijnen – Delphine Eyraud – Guillaume W
Gaetano Sodaro – Fabien Ecochard – Antoine Dogan – Mélanie Coentreiras – Taieb Mokni – Laura Leijnen – Delphine Eyraud – Guillaume W
Some of the my photos represented during the event:
