Photobook

Mentor : Hemant Basankar

Using visuals to weave a story: establishing lateral as well as literal relationships.

"The photobook is experienced through the activities of page-turning and perception."

Bettina Lockemann, Thinking the Photobook, A Practical Guide

This elective head started with the students getting acquainted with the various photo books made by different artists from around the world which included Dayanita Singh, Sohrab Hurrah, Ana Atkins, Katrin De Blauwer and more. Understanding how the artists work with different ways of selecting images, sequencing, curating and interesting methods of putting the book together like collage, envelopes, two photo stories, interactive books using different photo compositions through their editing later became the adopted method for the studio as well. We started out with selecting 20 photographs of their choice, since the students were working in pairs, each pair had a photo bank of a minimum 40 photographs. Each one started with thinking through a narrative that was formed through the individual experiences of everyday or memories from the past. To craft a narrative in the experience of the book, many experimented with the ideas of folding, collaging, zines, sleeves and stitches. While some completely designed a hand stitched book some worked with digital medium to design the book layouts to be able to tell the story.

After shortlisting a large number of images, We made basic inkjet prints and started assembling them in various combinations and juxtapositions until a loose narrative – both visual and textual - began to take shape.

The photobook's title 'Insight.' is inspired from the life we see around us and its circle , which reflects my way of viewing the world. The black coloured page breaks and empty gaps are a reflection of life which is often considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful.

Samsara is a Sanskrit term that refers to the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth .It represents the idea that existence is a perpetual cycle of reincarnation and that one must strive to attain liberation from this cycle through spiritual development and enlightenment. This cycle is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful. The cycle stops only if moksha (liberation) is achieved by insight and the extinguishing of craving.

The circle of life is like a cosmic dance where everything is interconnected and interdependent. It's the grand choreography of existence, where each living being plays its part in the intricate tapestry of nature. There's a beauty in impermanence, a poignant reminder that change is the only constant.