Zipped in Alluence
Veda J.
-
Wow. How can I put into words my artistic process? To be honest, that is one of my favorite things about it. I think what I enjoy about it most is the mystery behind it. It is not something I can tell someone step by step for one to follow. Even I don't exactly know where it takes me at times. Most of it involves me experimenting different things that inspire me or catch my eye. It can range from the smallest things like a light beam reflecting on my bangle or a pool of water in made in a rain barrel. It can be as random as a piece of dirt on a shoelace or the way the vegetables are arranged in the fridge. My first encounter with photography was in my own backyard when I thought a particular lemon (one out of maybe thirty) looked really pretty in the sunshine after a light drizzle, shining with a fresh glint of water. And ever since then, I have been snapping shots of everything I see around me. I try to train myself to veer away from the traditionally photographed sceneries in life that we see like colorful sunsets/rises or the beautiful waves of the sea. I personally feel that there are so many other wonderful things in the world that deserve just the same amount of appreciation as those. For example, if everyone started taking pictures of the ground, the various cracks, bumps, holes etc, it would be the new trendy thing. It is all about what we deem 'pretty'. Through my photography, I want to change that idea and encourage more of a personal pursuit of photography which can help bring more originality and diversity to the standard discourse of what a 'photograph' is. Is it just a frozen moment? Is it more or is it less? How can we capture emotion and feeling through a picture? How does a difference in lighting or angle change the mood of the picture? These are all things I try to answer in pictures I take.
In terms of the picture I chose for this particular competition, I chose an image that most closely represent my artistic process. This image captures a high end luxury bag (Prada) lying on the ground. I named it Zipped in Affluence because I feel like the people in the top of the economic ladder are zipped up in their own world and are almost completely blind to the poverty around them, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Hence, the bag left on the floor. If the same bag was given to a man who lives on the streets, he would never let that object go out of sight.
-
Exploring and expressing my creativity allows me to deal with obstacles and understand situations I am in by looking at them through a more holistic perspective. Photography helps me see things and value the little moments and beauties of our existence.
