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FINEARA

Balaji Ponnambalam

A girl with her hand near her face standing in front of yellow and white neon signs

Balaji Ponnambalam

Balaji Ponnambalam

Balaji Ponnambalam

Balaji Ponnambalam

Fine Art Photography

A girl holding a sunflower in a sunflower field on a bright day
A girl in a sunflower field holding up a camera to take a photo
A girl with a dog on top of a sandy hill at sunset

Based in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Exhibited at

Galleries

Galleries

A red car zooming down the road on a foggy day

Sparks Gallery, San Diego, USA

Collaborations with

Brands

Brands

A large phone in front of a purple and blue gradient backdrop

Blank Wall Gallery. Athens, Greece

Collaborations with

Brands

Brands

A grey car parked in a grass field in a hilly area

Valid World Hall, Barcelona, Spain

Collaborations with

Brands

Brands

A grey car parked in a grass field in a hilly area

FotoZA Gallery, Johannesburg

Collaborations with

Brands

Brands

A grey car parked in a grass field in a hilly area

Blank Wall Gallery. Athens

Collaborations with

Brands

Brands

A grey car parked in a grass field in a hilly area

Modeka Gallery. Manilla

I photograph what the universe builds and what we place inside it. Mountains, canyon walls, the architecture of the human spine - these are not different subjects. They are the same subject seen at different scales. A granite face and a collarbone share the same relationship with light. A slot canyon and the curve of a waist both describe what happens when pressure meets time.

My work begins with observation and ends with reduction. I strip the frame to its essential geometry - the line where shadow meets skin, the moment a structure becomes a silhouette, the point where the man-made and the organic become indistinguishable from one another. I shoot almost exclusively in black and white because monochrome demands honesty; without colour to charm, the image must survive on form, light, and composition alone. When I do use colour, it has to earn its place.

I work across four series — Landscape, Figure Study, Portrait, and Painterly - because I believe a body of work should demonstrate range without losing coherence. A cathedral photographed in Granada and a figure photographed in my Austin studio belong to the same conversation. Both are studies in how light reveals structure, and how structure holds meaning. My prints are produced as limited editions on archival paper, made to be lived with. They belong on the walls of people who look carefully.

I photograph what the universe builds and what we place inside it. Mountains, canyon walls, the architecture of the human spine - these are not different subjects. They are the same subject seen at different scales. A granite face and a collarbone share the same relationship with light. A slot canyon and the curve of a waist both describe what happens when pressure meets time.

My work begins with observation and ends with reduction. I strip the frame to its essential geometry - the line where shadow meets skin, the moment a structure becomes a silhouette, the point where the man-made and the organic become indistinguishable from one another. I shoot almost exclusively in black and white because monochrome demands honesty; without colour to charm, the image must survive on form, light, and composition alone. When I do use colour, it has to earn its place.

I work across four series — Landscape, Figure Study, Portrait, and Painterly - because I believe a body of work should demonstrate range without losing coherence. A cathedral photographed in Granada and a figure photographed in my Austin studio belong to the same conversation. Both are studies in how light reveals structure, and how structure holds meaning. My prints are produced as limited editions on archival paper, made to be lived with. They belong on the walls of people who look carefully.

Exhibited worldwide
8 Exhibitions · 8 Countries

The Collector's Letter

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