Every six years a small river junction in India plays host for up to two hundred and forty million visitors. This event is known as the Kumbh Mela. On astrologically predetermined days, Hindu pilgrims believe these waters obtain divine power. The ensuing procession departing and entering form a revolving nexus of concentrated, mass devotion. Ryan Jakubek offers reverence to the power of a collective and suggests intangible presence in the first part of an ongoing project depicting massive spiritual events around the world. Specific to images captured at the water’s edge, Confluence explores the climactic moment of a protracted journey estimated to be the most populous human gathering that has ever occurred. Through a combination of traditional composition and contemporary gesture, Jakubek highlights the inexorable power of scale to inform relationships within a crowd. Further context to the balance between shared and individual experiences is provided in a series of detailed portraits. Reflexive and varied expressions in these portraits suggest an interplay between subject and witness-photographer. The dynamism within the scene and its attribution of cosmic power to the water is referenced in Jakubek’s portrayal of striking and turbulent formations. More than a geographical study of the site’s importance, Confluence connotes the transformational experience of meeting a prodigious force and realizing connection.
Ryan Jakubek (he/him) is a lens based artist and printmaker currently residing in what is commonly known as Toronto, Canada. He received a BFA from Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Image Arts and works with traditional and alternative photographic processes, video installation, mixed media and traditional printmaking processes. His work has been exhibited at Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Nuit Blanche Toronto, Open Studio Contemporary Printmaking Centre and Gallery 1313.
