Kerala Kathakali — Make-up Application Portrait
699.00 د.إ
A Kathakali performer in the three-hour make-up application process backstage at a Kerala temple festival — the elaborate green and red Pachcha character make-up being applied by an assistant while the performer maintains ritual stillness.
Description
Kathakali, Kerala’s classical dance-drama form, requires a make-up transformation of three to four hours before each performance — the performer’s face entirely repainted in the complex Pachcha (green) character palette that makes the dancer unrecognisable. This documentary portrait was made backstage at a temple festival in Thrissur district, the Kathakali artist in the mid-stage of the Pachcha make-up process: the green base is applied, the white rice-paste surround (chuttippu) is being added around the face, and the red and black character elements are still to come. The performer maintains ritual concentration throughout the process. Shot with available backstage fluorescent light on a 50mm prime at f/2.8, the make-up detail and the practitioner’s focused expression in the background are both sharp within the shallow depth of field.
