After years of traveling and documenting life in India, Orlando resident Yatin Patel launches his extraordinary series “Sutra” on Friday, September 16, 2011.

The exhibition, located at 120 North Orange Avenue in Downtown Orlando, debuts with a VIP invitation-only reception from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, September 16, 2011. It opens for the general public from 6:30 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 17, and from 1 to 6 p.m on Sunday, September 18.

“SUTRA”, which has ancient Sanskrit Indo-Aryan origins, means “a thread or line that holds elements together.” This powerful word well defines the essence of Yatin’s series, photographed in his hometown of Ahmedabad, India.

Having lived in both India and the Western world, Yatin felt compelled to explore his roots and the lifestyle he had taken for granted. He reveals the equilibrium taking place in society – the coexistence of architecture, humanity and the surroundings, both ancient and contemporary – each scene being an intimate, richly detailed reflection of these threads that define lives and cultures.

“What fascinates me is how, after thousands of years, the original environment and its habitants have organically evolved in time to find a delicate balance between tradition and modernism, without compromise. My work seeks to document this astonishing yet harmonious paradox,” said Yatin. “It is the spatial and intimate interconnection between architecture and mankind which matters to me.”

Using high dynamic range (HDR) processing and high contrast tonality, Yatin captured the beautiful textural fibers that are woven into the environments of present-day urban India. Yatin then selected world-renowned digital printmaker Jon Cone to bring “Sutra” to fruition. Cone created the methodology used to produce Yatin’s prints, which includes a set of 12 custom-made monochromatic inks and large sheets of rare handmade kozo Japanese paper. The depth and texture provided by both paper and ink is unparalleled. Cone excitingly states, “For Yatin’s imagery, I am printing using a bluish gray ink to carry the mood in the shadows. It peeks out from behind the blackest parts. I use a brown nearly as strong as tea in color. I have three shades of pure warm carbon that make up the bulk of the gray tones in the print so that the images appear to be rich and with considerable depth.” The large-scale “Sutra” exhibition will be traveling internationally starting in 2012. A portion of all proceeds will benefit AAP (AIDS Awareness & Prevention)