Ephemeral City

The Maha Kumbh Mela, is a massive 55-day religious gathering held every 12 years at the confluence of India´s holy rivers: the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. The Khumbh is believed to have taken place for thousands of years and now draws nearly 100 million pilgrims from around India. This transitory religious city, built in the bed of the Ganges River during low season, offers the masses basic infrastructure and amenities--electricity, toilets, floating bridges across the rivers, and an organized street grid with traffic control. It is considered the cleanest city in the country, with the best sanitation and access to social services. This work is the result of my daily walks and encounters with the inhabitants of this temporary city. Pilgrims from throughout the country, of all ages and castes, speaking dozens of languages, come together to form this unique community. With the exception of the most auspicious days, when millions of additional people come, there is a flow and routine to life in this bustling metropolis. When the time comes, it is all deconstructed. The monsoon waters rise again, leaving no trace.

Selma Fernandez is a Mexican freelance photographer based in Minneapolis, MN. Her work has been featured in various exhibitions in places such as Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City, Manuel Alvarez Bravo Photo Center in Oaxaca, Mexico, Fototeca Nacional in Pachuca, Mexico, Nuevo Leon Center for the Arts in Monterrey, Mexico, Tijuana Cultural Center, in Tijuana, Mexico, Mexican Cultural Institute in San Antonio, TX, The Third Place Gallery in Minneapolis, MN, Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO, Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, TX, New Orleans Photo Alliance, and the New York Academy of Art, among others. She recently completed an artist residency in Minneapolis, MN from Forca Noreste, in Mexico, to produce her project “The Ache for Home” about refugee communities in the Twin Cities. One of her photographs from this series was recently selected for the 2014 Minnesota Biennial organized by the Minnesota Museum of American Art. She teaches and produces photo workshops throughout Mexico and abroad. Since 2011 she has produced Mary Ellen Mark´s workshops in Oaxaca, Mexico and New York. Her work is part of the collection of the Nuevo Leon Center for the Arts in Monterrey, Mexico, the Manuel Alvarez Bravo Photo Center, in Oaxaca, Mexico, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston as well as a variety of private collections.