Date:27/09/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/09/27/stories/2005092706640100.htm

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Capturing women's essence

Sudhish Kamath

The focus is more on the personality of inmates than their suffering.

A still from `Phil and Me', an earlier work of Amanda Tetrault.

CHENNAI: If a picture is worth a 1000 words, her book profiling inmates of The Banyan should speak volumes.

Amanda Tetrault, earlier work, `Phil and Me,' a photo-document on her relationship with her father, a victim of schizophrenia, has been short-listed for the prestigious U.K-based John Kobal Book Award 2005.

In the last four months, the 28-year old Canadian has been working closely with The Banyan to bring out `Look at Me,' a photographic book that tries to put a human face to countless women suffering from mental illness.

"I interviewed 50 women," says Amanda. "They are women first, they have a personality. That is what I'm looking at bringing out, not their mental illness."

Amanda took the help of a translator to capture the essence of rehabilitated women and inmates. Unlike her previous book on her father which was entirely in black and white, `Look at Me' would be all-colour.