Hear that sound?
It’s the silent mantra,
Softer year by year,
Vanishing in the world’s hubbub,
Listen while it’s still there…
Anonymous, Spituk Monastery, Ladakh, India,
early 21st century
Photobook
THE SILENT MANTRA
A travel photographer, Jakub Śliwa, tells a story about Ladakh in India – about the Himalayan settlements and their dwellers, Buddhist monasteries and secluded valleys. He presents the beauty, subtlety, but also the toil of the old world and what comes with the new order.
The photographs carry out a dialogue according to Śliwa’s concept: avoid misrepresentation of the reality and depict the existing world while lending the artistic eye to the ephemeral ambiance of Buddhist philosophy, unique culture and seclusion, which still reverberate in this place.
Photo album
The Silent Mantra
Although Ladakh is a region within Indian borders, it culturally belongs to the Tibetan tradition – and it is often called the Little Tibet. Its extant monasteries cultivate Buddhist traditions, and many Tibetan fugitives live in its valleys. The region maintains traditional rituals (such as cz’am dances) which gradually disappear in the occupied Tibet.
Due to the geographical position of the former Himalayan kingdom situated among impenetrable passes negotiable only a few months a year, and its harsh climate, the influence of outside cultures had been resisted for long. The air link between Delhi and Leh (the capital of Ladakh) irreversibly changed the face of this territory.
This familiar story – the story common to villages, towns and regions worldwide – unrolled before the photographer’s very eyes. Jakub found himself in Ladakh in search for unknown places off the beaten track.
Enchanted by the unique ambiance of this region, he would return every year to see the villages unlike the ones he had left twelve months before. His photographs capturing the course of these changes remain pregnant with dwindling traditions and philosophy of the old world while accounting for what the new has brought.
Limited edition, printed in duotone on the high quality uncoated matt paper. Embossed hardcover.
The Silent Mantra
45,00€
ISBN: 978-83-937941-9-5
Format: 245 × 187 mm
Cover: hard
Pages: 80
Language: English
Publisher: Deadpxels
About the author
Jakub Śliwa
For years, Jakub Śliwa has specialized in photographing the “non-Western” world: the Indian subcontinent, North and Central Africa. He has visited India several tens of times and made features i.al. about the lepers of Puri, the obsolescent Kushti wrestling tradition and the spectacular rituals of Kali worship. He is interested in fading traditions, rituals and ceremonies and has published on these subjects i.al. in National Geographic. He would return to the Ladakh villages for six years until this still unrecognized place lent him a story for his original publication.
Photobook – Reviews
The Silent Mantra
They say not to judge a book by its cover. The austere cover of The Silent Mantra hides an incredibly deep and colourful story, although told with black-and-white photographs. Jakub Śliwa invites the reader to the world which seems one-dimensional and simple at first, but all you need is listen – silently nota bene – to the photos in order to observe different correlations and a different message each time you look. The quality of photographs and expertise of composition need no further recommendation than the person of their author, Jakub Śliwa himself.
Urszula Michałowska
Jakub Śliwa’s The Silent Mantra brings the sense of mystery, a bundle of mysteries dwelling in the Himalayan settlements of Ladakh. Neither does this mystery rise from the exotic character of this place nor its foreign customs or the uniqueness of its harsh environment and landscape. The mysteries run much deeper. They are rooted in the personalities of Ladakh dwellers, their amazing connection with Tibetan Buddhism, and finally their friendly approach to outlanders. Jakub’s photos brilliantly express this mysterious character of Ladakh’s inhabitants and their homes, as well as the world of Buddhist monasteries as a significant element of the Ladakh reality. Black and white of the photographs seamlessly writes into the raw prints of the Ladakh landscapes.
Krzysztof Renik
A significant value of this publication comes from its introduction. Although lapidary and direct, it is an excellent invitation to the world of Ladakh and its dwellers even to the less aware reader. Along with the photographs, it allows a precious encounter with unusual Himalaya land to everyone who reaches for Jakub Śliwa’s book.
Elżbieta Dziuk
The Silent Mantra
The book comes with:
one randomly selected high quality photograph from the album.