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HINDU TEMPLE, HIMALAYAS (10/21)
Référence :
Color photograph of a Buddhist temple in the Himalayas, taken by Ferrante Ferranti. The 6-pointed star is the combination of a lingam (masculine symbol) and a yoni (feminine symbol). The combination of these two elements symbolizes Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit IAST: ardhanārīśvara; the “androgynous lord”) which in Hinduism is an epithet of Shiva represented in the androgynous form (ardhanaru): Shiva on the right side and Parvati on the left side of the same body. This symbolism, combined with the androgynous profile of the character, gives the photograph its full force.
Length : 1.18 in / 3 cm
Height : 36.61 in / 93 cm
Width : 55.12 in / 140 cm
Weigth : 2.2 lb / 1 kg
Artist : Ferrante Ferranti
Technique: Digital photography
Support: Pigment print on baryta paper (Canson Fine Art Baritta), laminated on Dibond
Dimensions: 140 x 93 cm
Number of copies: 21 signed and numbered prints
Year: 2011
Inspiration: Leaning against the wall of the Ardhanarishvara Temple, a figure appears from behind, motionless, almost absorbed in the stone. In this high-altitude landscape, where the sky seems close and the silence dense, Ferrante Ferranti composes an image of withdrawal and listening.
Here, the human figure is not subject but threshold. It serves as a ladder, a breath, allowing us to enter the depth of the place. The wall, patinated by time, becomes a surface for meditation; The light glides over the material, revealing the roughness of the sacred.
Through this refined framing, Ferranti transforms the scene into an inner experience. The body turned towards the wall suggests an intimate face-to-face with the invisible world. Between architecture, landscape and human presence, the image opens up a space of contemplation, where we perceive the resonance between man and the divine.
More than a travel photograph, this work is a silent halt — an invitation to stand, in turn, against the wall of time.
Ardhanarishwar Temple is dedicated to Lord Ardhanarishvara. An androgynous deity half male and half female, presenting Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati symbolizing perfect balance. Ardhanarishvara, also known as Ardhanari and Shiva-Parvati, is a prominent figure in the Hindu pantheon. This singular deity symbolizes the harmony of masculine and feminine energies united in a single androgynous entity. In Sanskrit, “Ardha” means “half” while “Nari” means woman. Thus, Ardhanarishvara embodies the feminine aspect of the Deity. According to the Hindu sacred texts, Ardhanarishvara was born from the alliance between Shiva – the embodiment of the ultimate masculine – and his consort Parvati – the supreme representation of the divine feminine. This divine figure clearly illustrates the notion that each individual contains within himself both masculine and feminine attributes.
Ferrante Ferranti
FRANCE
Born January 13, 1960 in Algeria, of a Sardinian mother and a Sicilian father. He took his first photograph at the age of eighteen, a wave in Belle-Île-en-Mer. Passionate about Fernand Pouillon’s book, Les Pierres Sauvages, he began training as an architect in Toulouse, which he completed at Paris-UP6 in 1985 with a diploma in Theaters and scenography in the Baroque era. Traveling photographer, he has been involved for thirty years with Dominique Fernandez in a joint exploration of the Baroque and the different layers of civilizations, from Syria to Bolivia via Sicily and Saint Petersburg. His photographs dialogue with the texts of the writer, who defines him in the album Itinerrances (Actes Sud, 2013) as “the inventor of a language which links the sun to the ruins, in search of the meaning hidden in the forms” .
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