An eye “To Eternity…”

An eye "To Eternity…”
Eternal love is what spurred her to pursue photography with a passion. "Eternal love” is the title given by Shirrin Kumaana-Wadia to her photograph of her maternal grandfather’s frail left hand resting in her firm right hand that she chose to capture on her iPhone over two years ago when on a visit to Bombay. This image she considers her "first real photograph” that ignited in her the awareness "of the power of photography to tell a personal story.” Along with this signature photograph, 31 images from her subsequent experiments with the camera were displayed at her first exhibition "To Eternity and Back” held at The Viewing Room in Bombay from December 6 to 28, 2013. Describing her maiden exhibition as "a fabulous success… close to a sold out show” Kumaana-Wadia plans to hold many more at other galleries in Bombay as also in other countries.
"‘To Eternity and Back’ is a collection of enchanting visions of ephemeral and timeless moments that reflect the grand miracle of nature as well as intimate encounters with the everyday in New York City,” noted the invite to the exhibition. "Every photo has a story behind it… It talks to you,” conveyed the photographer at the inauguration. Among her favorites is "Roots,” 30”x40”, a sepia-toned photo of the shrouded Doongerwadi environs where the face of the deceased is shown for the last time before it is carried into the dakhma.

Shirrin Kumaana-Wadia

Yet another familiar scene is visible in "The Journey Begins” where the Marine Drive stretch in south Bombay, when seen through her lens, shows her enchantment with the city of her birth. The majority of the visuals though are of New York where she is now based with monumental facades, dazzling reflections on the surfaces of towering concrete and glass buildings, famed bridges and other landmark sites. Clouds skirting the skyline in many visuals never cease to fascinate. As her interest in the medium deepened she upgraded her equipment with more sophisticated cameras, editing tools, printing methods to enhance the salient points of each photograph. Her body of work now totals nearly 10,000.
Whilst photography is the peripheral interest of Kumaana-Wadia who has been residing in New York City since 2003, she is currently associate principal at Pierre Court Design, heading the hospitality design team with offices in New York, Lyon and Manama. Among the projects with which she has been associated are Hotel Vier Jahrszeiten Kempinski in Munich, Hotel New York Palace, the restaurant Peniche and private residences in New York, as also other residential projects in California and France, mentions her website www.shirr.in Two years ago she started her own studio under the name of Mazda Designs and has undertaken assignments in USA and in India.

"Innocence"

"The Journey Begins"

Recently she was nominated for the Young Zoroastrian Entrepreneur/Professional Award instituted by the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce. Married to arZan Wadia who is an architect/urban designer, Shirrin states that she is "passionate about Parsi matters” and particularly interested in "the inter-twining of culture and society in a radically changing world. Observing and participating in the Zarathushti diaspora… at ZAGNY (Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York) allows me to further understand my roots and contribute towards the community here and in India.”
Her multifarious talents include dancing. Trained in various styles of Latin American, Afro-Cuban and classical ballet, she is a regular performer in the city and has participated in the New York Salsa Congress in 2012 and 2013.