A Life in the Shadows

One of the oldest storytelling traditions, shadow theater combines puppetry with music, philosophy, history, storytelling, fashion, ritual, religion, and education.

While each nation in Southeast Asia has its own distinct culture, shadow theater is a shared theme. Many of the masters make their own puppets, play all the musical instruments, learn long texts in ancient languages, sing, study movement, and perform for long period of time in what is one of the most difficult and challenging art forms. Most of the performers are farmers, fisherman, factory workers, or teachers by day and artists by night.

Through documentary photography, A Life in the Shadows by Constantine Korsovitis, illustrates the sophistication and value of shadow theater and its creators, and the author has been capturing the spirit and multiplicity of shadow theater since 1999 in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, the common thread being the use of the Hindu epics of the Ramayana and the Mara Mahabharata as a source stories.