when american photographer julie wayne made one of her regular trips to tamil nadu in 2002 to procure art for her gallery in paris little did she know shed come across a culture that would absorb her for the next 10 years the world of ayyanar worship we rarely give the large protector god statues a second glance as we whizz past them on highways but wayne who lives in paris was intrigued when she couldnt find information she visited the villages and ended up a bit obsessed with the subject she photographed and interviewed the potters who create these sacred offerings and become priests for a day during the ayyanar festival an exhibition of her photographs from earth to earth is touring delhi and bengaluru in an interview to shalini umachandran wayne explains her work on worship what struck you about ayyanar worship ayyanar worship with terracotta offerings is exclusive to rural tamil naduayyanar is worshipped in parts of the world where a tamil diaspora is present but he almost never has his own shrine ayyanar worship is about the daytoday concerns of villagers when will the rains fall will my wife recover from her illness will my child pass his exams there is no dogma no single manner in which worship is observed that is what i found so fascinating the infinite variety in the terracotta offerings the shrines their contents and layout the festivals and the ritualseven the date of the festival is decided by the committee members of each shrine but you started your work with potters who make these statues yes my curiosity led me on a hunt to meet the potters responsible for the clay offerings they not only explained the details of their art but also introduced me to the other actors pujari samiaadi oracle committee members village elders i developed strong ties to many people but the strongest were with the potters and their families in 2007 a chief potter invited me to a festival at the kuthadivayal shrine near aranthangi this was the tipping point for i was finally able to witness the living animated rituals and events that were the driving force behind the exquisite but static shrines from that point on i went from village to village festival to festival was it difficult to get people to talk to you and was being a european woman an advantage or a disadvantage it is quite evident in my photos that i was warmly welcomed by all of ayyanars devotees in homes villages shrines and festivals early on in my research i thought being a european woman was a hindrancei soon realized it was an advantage for i was totally outside the framework and had no preconceived ideas nobody from outside the village had ever participated in a festival or spent so much time taking photos and asking questions the villagers saw me again and again and understood this was not a passing hobby or voyeurism why is there such