Everyone wants to talk about their stories,? says Lekha Singh,?an activist, photographer, and filmmaker. In this case, Singh?is referring to the people profiled in Beyond Right & Wrong:?Stories of Justice and Forgiveness, a documentary she produced and codirected?in 2012. This poignant film addresses the reconciliation?between survivors and perpetrators of violence of some of the?world?s worst conflicts: The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the?Rwandan Genocide, and the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Never taking sides, it focuses on the bridges that former enemies?have built and, in many cases, their newly formed alliances towards?making their communities places of peace. In addition to many film and humanitarian awards, the American Psychology Association?named it Best Avant Garde Film. It has facilitated conversations?for thousands of people and has been used in marriage counseling,?prisons, and hospices. Singh has created a film that can and has?changed lives. With its message of peace and reconciliation, it?should be required viewing in schools around the world.
At the core of Beyond Right & Wrong are people who have felt?betrayed by the environments in which they live. Some solve this by?perpetrating violence; others are on the receiving end. The notion?of groups of people pushed to the edges of society is a common?thread in Singh?s work. With a camera trained on individuals from?around the world, she continues to capture fading cultures and?marginalized populations. These are predominantly traditional?groups whose existence is threatened by modernity. She says, ?More?and more indigenous people will be mainstreamed. They?ve been?given an education and that?s a good thing.? But, she adds, ?They?have magnificent childhoods, where they walk wherever they want. They can sense animals. They can sleep under the stars and their?senses are tuned another way.? In the modern world these inherent?skills are receding quickly. She quotes a friend who says, ?When an?elder dies, it is like a library is being burned.?
?To take pictures that express the commonality of human?experience by finding startling and impossible beauty in poor, littleknown?places of destitution and desolation,? guides Singh?s work.?She adds that through her imagery, she invites the viewer to witness?the narrative of her subjects?s lives. ?It is my way of honoring these?people who haven?t been honored,? she adds.
Singh came into photography accidentally. She was working?in Kenya and began taking pictures, which people started asking?to buy. So began a journey that has most recently led to showing?her work in two exhibitions in Los Angeles. Singh?s work has also?been published in The New York Times, and she was a contributing?photographer to National Geographic?s The Other Side of War: Women?s?Stories of Survival and Hope. Additionally, Singh edited The Making?of an Activist, a publication sponsored by the international charity,?Free the Children, whose goal is ?to empower youth as agents of?change.?
?I?ve been an activist all my life. I don?t know any other way of?life. It?s the most meaningful thing I can do,? she says. Singh, who?was raised in India, tells a story from her childhood of having a?five-Rupee note that she tore in half to share with someone who?needed it. She credits her grandfather for having instilled this sense?of compassion and justice in her. He was also quite progressive,?having married one of the first female doctors in India.
With her subjects scattered across the globe, Singh says she?often feels like a nomad herself. And though it might seem unusual?for a woman traveling alone to photograph in countries such as?Afghanistan, Morocco, China, and Kenya, among many others, she?says that being a woman has been an asset, adding, ?I get access?where men cannot.?
Singh wanted to write a book about the people she has met.However, knowing that not as many people would read a book as?would watch a movie, she turned to filmmaking, confessing, ?I?m an?impact junkie.? The result is The Square, on which she served as an?executive producer. The Square chronicles Egypt?s 2011 Revolution?and the emotional drama experienced in Tahrir Square. And it did?have an impact. Produced in 2013, The Square won three Emmy?awards and was nominated for an Oscar. However, the impact of her?work continues far beyond awards. Many of her films are available?on filmraise.com. Here, they are available to watch at no charge,?while a portion of each viewing is donated to charity. So far, Singh?s?films have been watched by over 37,000 viewers and counting. This?kind of philanthropy energizes Singh. She has incubated several?foundations and helped them come to fruition. As the founder and?first CEO of the humanitarian relief organization Aidmatrix, she?met her five-year goal of helping 50 million people by 2005.
Lately, Singh has been inspired by the Japanese aesthetic of Wabisabi,?in which impermanence and imperfection are revered. Her visual?manifestation of this is her latest body of work, the Weed series. In addition to photographing people, Singh also captures the landscape?when she travels. Hence, these are weeds of the world, from Ibiza?to Kenya to Oregon. They are photographed up close and printed onto 48? x 72? brushed aluminum panels. Singh says that much like?the marginalized populations she immortalizes, ?They (weeds) are?something we pass a thousand times without ever seeing.?
Another photography series she is working on relates to dust,?but not the household variety. In Singh?s images, many shot at the?annual Burning Man event, the Nevada desert envelopes everyone and everything. In a sense, the people in it embody the idea of dust?to dust.
Between people, plants, and elements, Singh says, ?It is the sense?of things disappearing that I am exploring right now.? Fortunately?for the rest of us, she is also providing a visual record of what may eventually disappear forever. nomadiccamera.com?-P