Sowers of Joy

A 30-year-old French girl's journey across Asia accidentally crosses that of a unique religious community of women living in Puntsokling, one of the ten destitute Buddhist nunnery of Zanskar in northwestern India. This meeting changes her life and the nuns' lives, revealing the charm of their tribe and the beauty of their territory. Caroline Riegel's photographs demonstrate the closeness she has created with her subjects, giving them a voice and opening up intercultural and intergenerational dialogue. Her photography is a tool to testify to the uniqueness of this community and the flourishing of bodies, faces, and souls.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 28 November 2021
Publisher: Hemeria

As she traverses Asia on her own, the path of a 30-year-old French girl accidentally intersects with that of a unique religious community, tiny and composed exclusively of women. They reside in Puntsokling: one of the ten utterly destitute Buddhist nunneries of Zanskar, a valley on the edge of the Himalayas in northwestern India, still isolated from the rest of the country by its inhospitable geography. This meeting at the end of the world will alter the course of her existence and, without a doubt, that of the nuns. A revelation and a long human and spiritual journey. Caroline Riegel's book is a two-sided voyage. Through the story she tells us, we discover both the charm of a unique tribe with astonishing sorority (a journey into the intimate) and the masterful beauty of their territory (a journey into the landscapes). But humans are inseparable from the environment in which they live. Here, the harshness of the elements did not generate that of the characters but their dazzling vitality. The hostile environment strengthened hearts, embracing in one movement the spirituality and uncompromising beauty of Nature. Devoid of the superfluous, these Sowers rub shoulders with the essence of the soul, the awareness of Happiness. Caroline Riegel's photographs demonstrate the closeness that she has created with her subjects, giving photographic work the power to reveal the Other and to make him accessible to the universal. The still image gives them a voice and opens up intercultural and intergenerational dialogue. Caroline Riegel is not just a simple spectator; her photography is not sidelined; it does not freeze the Other. On the contrary, it is the source of life, and testifies to the flourishing of bodies, faces, and souls. Her camera is a tool she uses to testify to the uniqueness of this tribe.

As she traverses Asia on her own, the path of a 30-year-old French girl accidentally intersects with that of a unique religious community, tiny and composed exclusively of women. They reside in Puntsokling: one of the ten utterly destitute Buddhist nunneries of Zanskar, a valley on the edge of the Himalayas in northwestern India, still isolated from the rest of the country by its inhospitable geography. This meeting at the end of the world will alter the course of her existence and, without a doubt, that of the nuns. A revelation and a long human and spiritual journey. Caroline Riegel's book is a two-sided voyage. Through the story she tells us, we discover both the charm of a unique tribe with astonishing sorority (a journey into the intimate) and the masterful beauty of their territory (a journey into the landscapes). But humans are inseparable from the environment in which they live. Here, the harshness of the elements did not generate that of the characters but their dazzling vitality. The hostile environment strengthened hearts, embracing in one movement the spirituality and uncompromising beauty of Nature. Devoid of the superfluous, these Sowers rub shoulders with the essence of the soul, the awareness of Happiness. Caroline Riegel's photographs demonstrate the closeness that she has created with her subjects, giving photographic work the power to reveal the Other and to make him accessible to the universal. The still image gives them a voice and opens up intercultural and intergenerational dialogue. Caroline Riegel is not just a simple spectator; her photography is not sidelined; it does not freeze the Other. On the contrary, it is the source of life, and testifies to the flourishing of bodies, faces, and souls. Her camera is a tool she uses to testify to the uniqueness of this tribe.

Weight: 1600g
Dimension: 297 x 243 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9782490952182