Ramya by Petra Stavast
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Published by Fw: Books & Roma Publications (2014) In 2001 Petra Stavast moved into a house where she met a woman named Ramya. For a few years the camera became their means of communication which resulted in a series of quiet photographs of the house and its inhabitant. Following Ramya’s death in 2012, the project gained a new dimension. Stavast discovered not only Ramya’s private archive, but also photographs of Ramya taken by a neigbor. She traces events such as Ramya’s membership of the Rajneeshpuram commune, established between 1981 and 1985 by followers of the Bhagwan (Osho) in the no-man’s-land of Oregon, USA. Now, as Stavast’s photographs reveal, the only on-site reminder of that period is a wide asphalted road. Video stills show Ramya, back in Amsterdam, at a workshop given by a new guru. Together, these documents constitute an unconventional biography that leaves the reader behind with mixed feelings. £34.00
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