The latest instalment of Paris-based photographer Vasantha Yogananthan’s A Myth of Two Souls. Offering a contemporary retelling of The Ramayana — a seven-chapter tale recorded by Sanskrit poet Valmiki in 300 BC and one of the founding epics of Hindu mythology — the years-long project sees Yogananthan retracing the itinerary of the epic’s heroes, from North and South India to Sri Lanka, blurring the lines between fiction and reality through a multitude of aesthetic approaches.

“At the end of chapter 4, the wicked Ravana abducts Princess Sita. While Rama is in great distress, hundreds of thousands of animals from all around the world gather to search for Sita. They know that on the far shore of the ocean is the bright and shining island of Lanka, where Ravana is living. Shot along the coastlines of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, Howling Winds mixes classic color photographs with acrylic hand-painted photographs to echo a world of magic.”

A Myth of Two Souls will be published in seven photobooks between 2016-2020 (one per chapter of the epic). See more from book five below or click here for more details. All images courtesy of Vasantha Yogananthan and Chose Commune.